Brock Purdy is good at this.
Not just playing football, with the seventh-round rookie from Iowa State having won four games as a starter after first coming off the bench on Dec. 4 to lead the 49ers to victory against the Miami Dolphins.
The football part is evident by virtue of a 66 percent completion rate (99-for-150), 1,196 yards passing, 10 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 101.4 passer rating.
Purdy, who just turned 23, can also handle the interview game, where he comes off each week as honest, serious, sincere and willing to engage the media without lapsing into tired cliches and looking as if he’d rather be anywhere else.
The guy nobody figured would be starting for the 49ers (12-4) will face his home state team Arizona (12-4) Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers can solidify the No. 2 seed in the playoffs or even ascend to No. 1 should the New York Giants’ reserves send Philadelphia to its third straight loss. Purdy met with the media Thursday and continued to give a little of himself without sounding like a rookie.
Here were the highlights:
1. Purdy likes critical coaching
Coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t like to waste a lot of time with platitudes when he can be making corrections. Purdy likes it that way.
“Throughout my career of playing football, I’ve always wanted the truth and honesty from a coach, from the guy who’s trusting me to go out and play. That started since I was little playing ball. In terms of a coach telling you everything’s all good, I’m not about that. You can’t get better from that.”
At the same time, there were instances at Iowa State when Purdy was too self-critical, more than any coach would be.
“Going into my junior year, I feel like I was really hard on myself in terms of wanting to be perfect and I was hard on myself that I feel like it almost became a detriment . . . I have to have a clean slate in a clear mind in what I’m doing.”
2. How a baseball background benefitted his playing style
Listed at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, Purdy can throw the ball at different arm angles to complete passes. He’s had more than one sidearm throw which has found it mark.
It’s no coincidence that Purdy played baseball as a youth all the way up through his sophomore year of high school. He explained that baseball in Arizona where he grew up was a year-round thing and football needed all of his attention.
“I played middle infield growing up and then towards the end, I played third base and I pitched. But the arm angles, having a base as a thrower, all that kind of stuff, I definitely feel it helped me to where I’m at now, especially with the quick game and throwing around defensive ends, so that’s definitely a credit to baseball.”
This sidearm throw from Brock Purdy to Brandon Aiyuk with a defender in front of him has been living rent free in my head 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/QQAcySzhkl
— Christian (@ChristianR_Vill) December 27, 2022
3. The second-to-last organization Purdy’s father played with was the San Francisco Giants
Shawn Purdy was a 6-foot, 205-pound right-handed pitcher out of the University of Miami. One of his later stops as an eight-year minor league pitcher was with the Giants organization, where he played two seasons for Double-A Shreveport and one season for Triple-A Phoenix.
With the Giants, Purdy was 21-10 in those three seasons and had a minor league record of 58-37.
“It’s part of his story and where he played, so he knows some of the guys that ended up going to the big leagues for the San Francisco Giants. He has some people that he knows and connections, but it’s cool to see that I ended up here in terms of the organization the played for too in his career. Little things like that I feel you can appreciate as a family.”
4. Why facing Arizona Sunday in the final regular season game is significant
A native of Queen Creek, Arizona and graduate of Perry High, Purdy was the 2017 Arizona Cardinals High School Player of the Year and the 2016 Arizona Cardinals Offensive Player of the Year.
“I went to a number of games growing up and they’re my home state team. A lot of our family and friends from where we’re at are all Cardinal fans, so it’s pretty cool, surreal, but at the same time, I’m at the point in my life where it’s another team I have to go up against and I’m not trying to make it more than what it is.”
That will be a little harder to pull off should the 49ers advance to Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12. The game is in Glendale, Arizona.
5. He’ll be the last starting quarterback faced by future Hall of Fame defensive lineman J.J. Watt
Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the year with Houston and Arizona, is calling it career after 12 seasons. Watt has 10 1/2 sacks this season — his first time in double digits with 2018 — and 112 1/2 for his career.
Could the final sack of his career come against Purdy?
I definitely respect him with everything he’s done in his career. My mentality for this game is I have to go in and just do my job, what the coach is asking of me. I’m not trying to think of anything outside of that or make it more than what it is. But he’s definitely a factor in the game and we have to do our part to make sure we put up points, get first downs and not have to worry about J.J.”
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