Brock Purdy is an American Football player and the star quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. He was born on December 27, 1999, in Queen Creek, Arizona, to his parents, Shawn and Carrie Purdy. His father was a professional baseball player which allowed Brock to become extremely familiar with the sports industry.
Taking his father as an inspiration, Purdy then began to play for a minor-league baseball team called the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played for several seasons on end as a shortstop and a pitcher before leaving to play for his true passion, football. His father recalls him having an early obsession with it at the age of five when he would watch his idol, Tim Tebow, play college for the Florida Gators. “I would sit on our coffee table at home and just watch and be so fascinated with the hype of the game and the environment,” Brock Purdy recalls on the 49ers “You Got Mail” podcast.
With his famous inspiration in mind and the mighty hands he picked up in baseball, he began to start to tackle football at the age of 12. Out of all the positions, such as offensive lineman, tight end, and wide receiver, Purdy chose quarterback when asked what position he wanted to play by his coach. To train for the upcoming season, he and his father, Shawn, worked endless days and nights training on the essentials like how to throw a football and basic plays. Brock Purdy also started to train in other physical areas, such as running and weight lifting, to get his body acclimated to playing. Every player in the football league gets to choose their number, whether it is symbolic to them or their favorite number. In Purdy’s case, this number was a number of one of his favorite players, Dan Marino. His family was a fan of the Miami Dolphins, and watching them play every week, Purdy grew a strong liking for Dan Marino, which made him want to rock the number 13. “Since he was 5 years old when he could first remember throwing a football, Purdy was watching highlights of Marino, trying to mirror Marino’s quick release. His room had a poster of the quarterback and a signed football of him.” “The Sporting News” states in their article about Purdy and his love for Dan Marino.
Purdy played for his league until high school, when he played football at Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona. When he graduated in 2018, he was lightly selected to play football by Iowa State University. He played at Iowa State for a total of four years. During this time, he set a record for the most wins of any quarterback from Iowa State.
When his four years were up, he and his family gathered around the TV to watch the NFL draft picks. They watched one by one by one, and their son, Brock, still had not been picked. As the draft went on it finally got to the last pick of the draft, everyone in his living room signed expecting their son not to have gotten picked, until they revealed the San Francisco jersey and announced Brock Purdy’s name. Purdy was then titled Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 NFL Draft Picks.
Although the 49ers chose Purdy, he wasn’t the star quarterback just yet. In fact, Purdy was the third-string QB for many games down the road. How did Brock Purdy finally get to the starter quarterback, you may ask? Well, first, the starting QB, Tray Lance, went down with an injury at the very start of the season. After that, he then welcomed the second string, Jimmy Garappolo. Jimmy played well up until the 49ers played the down while playing the Miami Dolphins, where Brock Purdy finally got to play. Nobody expected the third string, the last pick of the draft, and the rookie quarterback to be good, but he was. He was actually the first rookie quarterback to beat the famous Brock Purdy. That year, he led his team to the playoffs and, the year after that, the Super Bowl. Although he hasn’t won the Super Bowl yet, It is no doubt that he will in the next few years with the 49ers or not.
