ATLANTA — Trevon Young said he talked about this last spring.

Before the Los Angeles Rams selected him as their sixth-round pick, before he survived September cuts to the 53-man roster and long, long before the Rams’ 13-3 season powered a Super Bowl berth.

“During the draft process, I talked about with my friends that maybe I could go to a good team and be in the Super Bowl,” Young said while preparing for Super Bowl LIII against the Patriots. “I’ve actually talked about it before. So it’s wild being here.”

Wild, even for this Des Moines Lincoln product who registered just 12 snaps as a rookie on that ride, after notching 12 tackles for loss including 4.5 sacks at Louisville in 2017. The collegiate production was enough to warrant draft selection but not immediate impact on an NFL defense. Minimal statistical production didn’t keep Young from relishing in a debut year under Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

“Wade is a legend, doing it forever,” he said. “So being under him and getting his advice, you couldn’t ask for more. He’s taught me just how to get through an NFL season [in] my first season. Being under him has taught me a lot for my years to come.”

One memorable lesson: Phillips doesn’t defect blame.

“He always says the mistakes are his,” said Young, a defensive end. “So go out there and play as fast as you can, hard as you can, and good things will most likely happen.”

In one of Young’s brief game stints, in Week 7 against San Francisco, the rookie saw that advice come to fruition. The Rams offense opened the game 3-and-out before San Francisco’s C.J. Beathard (a former Iowa quarterback) strung together a series of short plays to flip the field.

A false start sent the 49ers back to their own 45 facing a second-and-16, a prime pass-rush opportunity for Rams outside linebacker Samson Ebukam. Ebukam wrapped Beathard from behind, the ball flying loose as if tossed in the air.

Young dived to meet it before it hit the ground. The interception-like play was officially ruled a forced fumble. The play was the highlight of his limited career so far, he said.

“That’s literally the only play I’ve made, so that one,” Young said. “Time started to go slow, and I go for it and got it. That’s something I’ll remember forever.”

So, too, he says, will he remember this Super Bowl run and what it meant to join a high-flying Rams team to cap off his rookie year.

Young anticipates a better memory of Sunday’s matchup than the aftermath of his fumble recovery, with the minutes following his first highlight-reel moment blurring together.

“After that, I kind of blacked out for a little bit,” Young said, “so I don’t really remember what people said.”

How about what his legend of a defensive coordinator said in film study the next week?

“They don’t ever give rookies too much credit for things,” Young said, “so kind of got a ‘good job’ and moved on.”

On, three months and counting later, to the Super Bowl.

Follow on Twitter: @JoriEpstein