Mr. Irrelevant suddenly becomes relevant on the world's biggest stage, Super Bowl LVIII
Not a lot of people knew who Brock Purdy was coming out of college at Iowa State. He might have gotten lost in the shuffle in the Big XII, so forgive him if he was in awe at Super Bowl Opening Night when the 49er faithful in the lower bowl started chanting his name.
"Pur-dy! Pur-dy! Pur-dy!”"
- 49ers Faithful at Opening Night
One guy knew not only his name coming out of college, but he also knew his game. It was Kansas City's two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who also played in the Big XII at Texas Tech.
"“I’ve seen Brock play since college, I knew how good he was,” Mahomes said at Super Bowl Opening Night. “I watched him play — I watch the Big 12 a lot so I watched him play a ton. He was a winner and he made plays happen all through his college career. Usually when you can make it happen in college, no matter what your surroundings are, and turn around a program like he did at Iowa State, you’re going to make it happen when you get your opportunity in the NFL. So I wasn’t very surprised he’s had the success that he’s had because he’s a winner and he’s a guy that goes out there and competes, and I’ve always said, more than a football player, you’ve got to be someone who competes, and he’s always been one of those guys.”"
- Patrick Mahomes
Purdy is used to being overlooked. It's been that way his whole life.
"I mean, honestly, people can overlook you and tell you all they want to tell about yourself, but at the end of the day, it comes down to just believing in yourself, Purdy said. And I think surrounding yourself with some good people. And then at the end of the day, anything can happen out of something that may not look great, but anything can come of it"
- Brock Purdy
Purdy might have been the last pick of the draft, but on the bright side, he was drafted and he did have an opportunity to be one of the 32 starting quarterbacks in the National Football League. Today, he is one of two left standing and is on the cusp of playing for a Super Bowl Championship.
"So obviously being drafted last, and then obviously getting to where we are now and playing in the Super Bowl, something that didn't look great initially, can turn into something pretty beautiful. So never, never giving up and believing in yourself.
- Brock Purdy
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People travel many miles to come to Sin City to see the bright lights of Las Vegas, For Purdy, the City of Lost Wages will always be special to him. This is where he got drafted two years ago and this is where he will lead his team against Kansas City as they fight for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
" I think I think it's just cool how it all all is in a way, you know full circle I got drafted here last and then now here. We are two years later to get ready to play in the Super Bowl I think it's pretty cool.
- Brock Purdy
I'm very grateful for it more than anything And so yeah, here we are. What a great opportunity. "
Purdy did not win the job as a rookie in training camp. As a matter of fact, he was grateful to just make the team. He was third on the depth chart behind Jimmy Garoppolo and former first-round first round pick Trey Lance. Lance was out with an injury and Garoppolo went down with an injury in a game against the Miami Dolphins and, bam, Purdy's number was called and he became the starting quarterback of one of the most famous teams in professional football.
"" I don't even know. I think for me I always wanted to be ready for whenever my opportunity came. I didn't know if I was gonna be a backup for a while on the NFL and maybe get a shot in three to four to five years, but sure enough early in the season when I had a backup Jimmy when Trey went down. I was like, "It could come sooner, so I have to be ready for it." So, I think after a while after I learned the playbook and started competing and making plays at camp, that sort of gave me some confidence moving forward. And if I needed my number to get called and get thrown in there, I definitely had confidence that I could make it. be able to go in and produce." "
- Brock Purdy
The newest franchise quarterback in 49ers lore knew that he had this in him. The funny thing is, so did the fans. They believed in him and became the Faithful.
"I think in camp, there was some practices and plays where I made some plays and I was like, okay, I think I can do this. And so that you know sort of got my confidence rolling and then week 13 against Miami going in and making some plays with the boys I think that's what I knew it's a blessing I mean we got best fan base in all of the world and the Niners and the Faithful Faithful. So for them to have my back, it means the world gives me a lot of confidence and I love them. So I want to play well for them. "
- Brock Purdy
Purdy would not be in the spotlight this week if not for the 17-point deficit that he erased against Detroit in the second half of the NFC Championship Game. He believed in himself and more importantly, so did his teammates.
" I mean, I think it's just like early on in the game, we need the momentum. We need to make plays, convert third downs. There had been some plays where I feel like I could have been better with progress. progressions and so those are the things that I'm hard on myself with and I want to be better for my team. And so obviously you make plays at the end and then Nick's like, hey man, great job, where did it all come from? And I'm like, I'm thinking about the plays I could have been better at so. But to have Bosa like that and have my back, it doesn't get any better."
- Brock Purdy