Who is Brock Purdy? San Francisco 49ers QB rises from Arizona, Iowa State to Super Bowl 58

How Brock Purdy has remained relevant ever since he got his chance this season with the San Francisco 49ers is maybe the most remarkable story of the 2023 NFL season.

Rising from Mr. Irrelevant (the last pick of the NFL draft) to making the 49ers roster, to going from third-string to backup to starter after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo and then going 7-0 last season, including winning his first two playoff games, is the stuff of storybooks.

This season, Purdy's 49ers went 12-5 in the regular season before beating the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Playoffs Divisional Round, 24-21. They then beat the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game, 34-31 to make the Super Bowl.

Even after the 49ers' 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58, Purdy drew praise for his solid performance on the biggest stage in sports.

So who is Brock Purdy? Let's break down his journey from high school in Arizona to now:

Read more: Perry unveils 'Brock Purdy Way' in honor of 49ers QB ahead of Super Bowl 58

Where is Brock Purdy from?

Purdy, whose family lives in Queen Creek, split time at quarterback his sophomore season in 2016 at Perry High School in Gilbert, part of the Chandler Unified School District. He threw more interceptions (11) than touchdown passes (eight) on a 4-7 team. Then, after spending the summer sick with mononucleosis, he missed the first three games of his junior year. He had lost 20 pounds. His energy was sapped.

But, in his first start, he threw one beautiful rainbow after another in a 43-0 win over Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor, completing 25 of 28 passes for 361 yards and five TDs. He had 20 TD passes in his first four games and could put his baseball glove away and keep his focus on the football. He had 3,333 yards and 42 TDs passing and 842 yards and six TDs rushing. Perry reached the 6A semifinals for the first time.

Perry beat Hamilton for the first time in school history, and Purdy threw for 358 yards and five TDs in a 44-35 loss to eventual state champion Chandler.

Steve Axman, who coached Super Bowl 30 quarterbacks Troy Aikman of the Cowboys and Neil O'Donnell of the Steelers in college, worked with Perry that season as a QBs coach, getting to know Purdy. He saw that laser focus and was reminded of how Aikman was at UCLA.

"So many times in my mind I thought how he was very much like Troy," Axman said. "It was because of their focus and their intensity. They were very consistent both ways. I thought that was a big part of their success."

Losing to a cactus, winning state championship

But even coming off of that remarkable All-Arizona junior season, beating out nationally ranked No. 1 Spencer Rattler as the top quarterback in Arizona by The Republic, Purdy got no college attention. Stunning.

And there was yet another chance for Purdy to prove he could overcome adversity.

He had a run-in with a cactus amid May spring football workouts. It was during a team-bonding paintball game in the desert, and Purdy, always trying to find a competitive edge, rolled around and fell catching a saguaro with his left hand. A needle punctured his hand. He wore a soft cast playing center the rest of spring workouts, lobbing the ball with his right hand back to quarterbacks on drills.

"The cactus won," then-Perry coach Preston Jones said at the time.

Then, the 6-foot-1 Purdy, unbothered by the lack of recruiting, went to work, showing that junior season breakout was no fluke. He led the Pumas to their first state championship appearance, pushing Chandler to the edge in a 49-42 loss. He finished his senior season with 6A single-season records of 4,405 yards and 57 TDs passing and running for 1,017 yards and 10 TDs. He was the consensus state Player of the Year in 2017.

Against Chandler, in the final, Purdy passed for 322 yards and five TDs and ran for 131 yards and a score.

'Heck of a game manager': Brock Purdy quiets critics with 49ers' comeback over Lions

Landing at Iowa State for college

But where were the Power 5s? He only got his first Division I offer 10 games into his senior season. That came from Montana State.

It's not like he came out of nowhere. It was a Friday night treat for fans every time Purdy stepped on the field his junior and senior seasons, putting up huge numbers, showing his escapability on pass rushes to bide time for his receivers on long pass plays. He had that "it" factor that any coach who worked with him or had to devise a defensive game plan against him saw.

Purdy, grounded in his strong Christian beliefs, remained patient, letting God lead him to where he was meant to be.

That place ended up being Iowa State.

But that only opened up after the first signing period in December passed and after Alabama offered him a preferred walk-on opportunity on Dec. 13, 2017. At the time, Purdy called the Alabama PWO, "Amazing."

Boise State offered before the early signing period, but Purdy waited until the second signing period.

With Boise State and Central Florida hot on Purdy's trail, he got a full offer from Alabama on Jan. 17, 2018.

That got other Power 5s to finally offer. Such as Texas A&M, Kansas and Illinois. But he didn't get a single Pac-12 offer.

When he took his trip to Iowa State, Purdy attended a basketball game, where he was greeted with chants of, "We want Brock," from the students. "It felt like home," Purdy told The Republic then.

From college to 'Mr. Irrelevant'

Like with the 49ers, Purdy started his Iowa State career third on the depth chart. But because of injuries to others, he got his first game action in early October as a true freshman against then-No. 21-ranked Oklahoma State. Purdy rolled up 318 yards and four TDs with one interception and scored on the ground coming in relief in a 48-42 win.

The Purdy era at Iowa State began. Purdy was coach Matt Campbell's man for the rest of his Iowa State career, going 31-20 in his four years with the Cyclones, setting school records with 12,170 career passing yards and 81 TD passes.

So, after an intense offseason of training, Purdy got himself ready for the NFL draft, only to finally hear his name called with the 262nd and final pick. He was surrounded by family and those who knew him best growing up in his home when the call from the 49ers came.

It prompted Jones to say, "He is going to make it because he is Brock Purdy.

"The only ones that know what that means are people closest to him," Jones told The Republic after the last pick of that April draft. "Some day they will write a book about Brock and his story. Mr. Irrelevant will be just a chapter in the middle somewhere."

Purdy impressed 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan so much in camp last season that he kept him as the third quarterback.

But did anybody really believe that, as a rookie, Purdy would even see the field, let alone guide the 49ers to the last eight wins (he played most of the Miami Dolphins game after Garoppolo went out with a broken foot)?

Brock Purdy rookie contract: When 49ers QB is eligible for extension, 2023 salary

Purdy's salary and contract status

According to USA Today, Quarterback Brock Purdy signed a four-year, $3.74 million deal after being drafted 262 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, landing him as the 66th highest-paid quarterback in the NFL this season based on average annual salary.

Purdy's contract will likely change significantly post-2025 once his rookie contract is up if his performance continues as it has in recent seasons. According to Spotrac.com, Purdy's base salary, bonus, and cap hit are broken down as follows, USA Today reported:

Purdy's contract will likely change significantly post-2025 once his rookie contract is up if his performance continues as it has in recent seasons.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who is Brock Purdy? Ex-Arizona standout leads 49ers into Super Bowl 58