FOXBORO — Some days, as he pads around the meeting rooms and facilities at Gillette Stadium, Brandon Meriweather wears a certain pair of sandals.

Adorned with the logo of the NFL Pro Bowl, Meriweather won’t say where he got the footwear, but they serve as inspiration for the second-year defensive back. He’s seen his friends and teammates make the trip to the league’s annual all-star game, and he plans to get there someday, as well.

Given the arc his career has been on thus far, it may only be a question of when, not if.

But questions have seemingly surrounded Meriweather from the day he was drafted by the Patriots.

Less than 20 months ago, he was more of a punk than a prospect in the eyes of many observers. The University of Miami standout New England selected with its first-round pick had been a central figure in an ugly on-field brawl, and also in a shooting incident outside his campus apartment in which he was found to have acted in self defense, using a gun legally registered to him.

As the images of Meriweather’s actions in the Hurricanes’ fight with Florida International were played just as often as highlights of his hard-hitting style, media and NFL types questioned whether New England had sold its soul, that the team that prided itself on good citizens had brought in a bad seed because he could help the team win.

It didn’t matter that head coach Bill Belichick had spent time with Meriweather in Miami and felt sure that the Florida native had just made a couple of errors in judgment, as so many other young men do. It didn’t matter that his high school coach praised him as a humble, “good boy” who liked to help out both Apopka High and Pop Warner players.

Meriweather says now that he wasn’t bothered by the perception of him that preceded his arrival in New England.

“No; nah,” he said on Friday. “After I got drafted, it was like, OK, that’s down the drain. I always say people can only go by what they know. If you don’t know anything about me, if you judge me by that, off of what you think you know, then you’ll never be a good person. For me, it was always if you meet me you’ll know different.”

Then Meriweather arrived in Foxboro, leaned on big brothers and former Miami teammates Vince Wilfork and Santonio Thomas (since released), and quietly went about his business, learning how to play both safety and cornerback in his rookie year. That’s when a different question came up: What’s up with this kid’s hands?

Meriweather saw his playing time increase as the season went on, and he made his first career start in Super Bowl XLII. But he also let no fewer than four interceptions go right through his hands, drawing jabs from teammates, friends and Belichick.

Baffled by the problem, since his hands had never been an issue before, Meriweather spent time in the offseason catching passes from Pats assistant Pepper Johnson and the JUGS machine — anyone or anything that would throw to him.

It didn’t take long for him to show that the work had paid off. In the second game of the season, Meriweather got his first interception, against Brett Favre, helping propel the Patriots to victory in Matt Cassel’s first career start. He gave the ball to Belichick.

Meriweather has a team-high four interceptions this season, the most recent last weekend in Miami to effectively clinch the win, and has given the ball away each time.

Ever the defensive back, those players who must have short-term memory loss in order to enjoy success, Meriweather says, “I always start back at zero” when asked why he doesn’t keep any of his picks for himself.

The self-proclaimed perfectionist feels he made a big jump from his rookie year to this season, citing maturity and his experience in the New England organization. But he knows there’s still work to do.

He speaks frequently with injured mentor Rodney Harrison (Meriweather refers to him as “Hot Rod”), who evaluates his play as he rehabs a quadriceps injury.

“We still talk about the little things that I do wrong. Even on film, you can tell the little things I do wrong. Hot Rod at home, he’s still telling me the little things I do wrong, and I’m sure if he notices them, then I am sure the opposite team notices them,” Meriweather said.

There is one thing Harrison no longer questions when it comes to his young teammate, one thing no one really questions anymore: his hands.

Back to those sandals. Meriweather sees opportunity when he looks down on them, and asked why he chose that particular symbol for inspiration, he responded: “You always need something to strive for, and you have your team goals and you have individual ones, and that’s one of my goals,” he said.

Maybe if the day comes when he can be referred to as Pro Bowl selection Brandon Meriweather, the questions will finally stop.

smanza@projo.com