Tyrese Haliburton cheering on Iowa State friend Brock Purdy as he reaches the Super Bowl
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tyrese Haliburton remembers getting to know Brock Purdy in the summer of 2018 on a campus bus in Ames, Iowa, going back and forth between class and the southeast side of campus where Hilton Coliseum and Jack Trice Stadium were located.
They were Iowa State freshmen then and taking a course that required them to read a leadership book -- Haliburton recalls the contents but not the title -- and meet with ISU football coach Matt Campbell every two weeks. Haliburton knew of Purdy's pedigree as a three-star quarterback recruit from Arizona, so he made a point to get to know him.
"I just kinda knew he was the kid who had the Alabama offer so I knew he was probably nice," Haliburton said. "I kinda just struck a relationship from there."
Five-and-a-half years later, Haliburton was out to dinner with his girlfriend nervously checking his phone as Purdy's 49ers fell behind 24-7 in the first half of the NFC Championship Game. He watched the second half from home and saw Purdy rally them back to a 34-31 win.
So on the same week that Haliburton was named one of the Eastern Conference's starting guards for the All-Star Game on Feb. 18 in Indianapolis -- becoming just the fourth player in Indiana Pacers NBA history to be named a starter -- Purdy, who has been elected to this year's Pro Bowl but won't attend, led his team to the Super Bowl.
"Life works in funny ways sometimes," Haliburton said after practice Monday. "I don't think if you asked either of us we could have imagined where we are today. I think that's the exciting part about life is you just continue to evolve and as long as you put your head down and do the work, anything is possible. I think that's probably the coolest part for us."
Haliburton and Purdy arrived at Iowa State with slightly different profiles, but ended up following somewhat similar paths. Haliburton was, as he puts it a "no-star" recruit until he committed to Iowa State in September of his senior year at Oshkosh North High School and finally registered to the recruiting services. His final ranking was a three-star but he didn't have high major offers until the summer before his senior year. Purdy got more attention -- he also had a Texas A&M offer and a handful of other Power 5s, but few from traditional football powerhouses.
They both expected to have to wait to get playing time and Haliburton actually expected to redshirt his freshman year. However, Purdy was Iowa State's starting quarterback by the fifth game of the 2018 season. He threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns in his first start and 2,250 yards and 16 touchdowns in his first season, leading the Cyclones to the Alamo Bowl where they lost to Washington State. Haliburton came off the bench in his first college game but played 29 minutes, scored 12 points and dropped off four assists and was in the starting lineup by his second game, averaging 6.8 points and 3.6 assists while shooting 51.5% from the field and 43.4% from 3 as a freshman.
"Our journeys were kind of similar our freshman year," Haliburton said. "... I think we kind of related on that note."
Injury issue: Why Tyrese Haliburton could lose out on $54.1 million
On some level, their paths diverged in terms of how they entered the pros. Purdy stayed four years and threw for more than 12,000 yards and 81 touchdowns, but was the 262nd overall pick and final player taken in the 2022 draft. Haliburton left after two years and went 12th overall in the 2020 draft. Haliburton got on the floor immediately in Sacramento and Purdy was inactive in his first two games in San Francisco and he didn't throw a pass until his seventh game as a pro, though injuries led to him earning the starting job in Week 14 last season and then leading the 49ers into the NFC Championship game.
"I would just say expectations for us from the general public weren't super-high," Haliburton said. "And I'm saying that as a lottery pick. But I came into school not really expecting to play. I think it's just two guys who have beaten the odds and excelled in both of their careers. The biggest thing I think people enjoy is that we're two people who really love our university. Iowa State is not a university that has a lot of professional success in the NBA or the NFL relative to other power schools. It's cool to see us both doing our things and I think that's what gets fans of our university excited."
Haliburton said he and Purdy text regularly, though he doesn't expect to hear back from his congratulatory text anytime soon, "He's probably blowing up right now." Haliburton is showing support for his friend every way he can. He was talking about Purdy in the locker room before Sunday's game, and he rooted for the 49ers over his hometown Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. He wore his white Purdy jersey onto the plane to Boston on Monday night for the Pacers' game against the Celtics and he's thinking of his plans for watching the Super Bowl. The Pacers will have an offnight between road games against the Knicks and Hornets, so that probably means watching in his hotel room in Charlotte.
"I can't be around too many people, they be hatin'," Haliburton said. "I gotta be by myself for that one."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tyrese Haliburton rooting for Brock Purdy in Super Bowl
