Ryan Allen’s face is lighting up as he starts talking about his friend Johnny. We are sitting in a ballroom at Atlanta’s Hyatt Regency hotel but his stories take us elsewhere, to a time when he and Johnny were still teammates at Oregon State University. Johnny, of course, is Los Angeles Rams punter Johnny Hekker and on Sunday he and his former college teammate will meet on football’s biggest stage.
Ryan and Johnny both walked on at Oregon State in 2008 and despite competing for the same job developed a close friendship.