Before Brock Purdy took the NFL by storm, he was rocking a famous red and yellow Iowa State Cyclones jersey on Saturdays. While relatively unknown in terms of NFL Draft projections, Purdy was one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever suit up for Iowa State.
His name is all over the ISU record books, and Purdy Magic lived in Ames far before it resided in San Francisco.
Brock Purdy’s Elite Play for Iowa State
When there are only 262 players drafted in an NFL Draft, there are certainly to be some overlooked players, undervalued players, and perhaps a player or two that you hadn’t heard about. For Purdy, the reasons for his being overlooked by NFL teams are still unknown, and he continues to exceed expectations.
After all, Purdy rewrote Iowa State’s record books from his freshman season forward.
Taking over for an ineffective Zeb Noland and injured Kyle Kempt, Purdy won seven of his first nine starts and compiled a ridiculous 169.9 college football quarterback rating. A season later, Purdy emerged as the clear-cut starter and the legend of Purdy Magic was born.
Purdy led the Big 12 in passing yards during his sophomore season, tossing 27 touchdowns and 3,982 passing yards in the process. He never threw more than nine interceptions for a full season and had a plethora of highlight-reel plays that made ISU fans jump out of their seats.
For his career, Purdy threw 12,170 career passing yards, completing 993 of 1,467 pass attempts. He threw 81 touchdowns against 33 interceptions, and his magic with his legs was evident as he ran for another 19 touchdowns and 1,177 yards.
Brock Purdy’s got the moooves pic.twitter.com/VW80Bk4ekv
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) December 19, 2020
He didn’t need to run all the time, nor did he need to flash the level of play he has with the 49ers at times with Iowa State, but the talent he possessed was evident in each of his four starting seasons.
Purdy Sets Schools Records Aplenty
When his Iowa State career was all said and done, Purdy set 32 school records. Most importantly, his winning was evident as he led the first four-year stretch of winning seasons in Ames since 1923.
The school records Purdy set are as ridiculous as the start of his NFL career has been. Here’s the full list of 34 school records that Purdy owns at Iowa State:
- Most bowl starts (4)
- Winningest starting QB (30 wins)
- Games with 3 or more TD passes (13)
- Consecutive starts (46)
- Freshman passing yards (2,250)
- Freshman passing TDs (16)
- Single-season passing efficiency (169.9, 2018)
- Career passing efficiency (151.1)
- Single-game pass attempts (62, 2019 vs. Oklahoma State)
- Single-season pass attempts (475, 2019)
- Career pass attempts (1,467)
- Single-game completions (39, 2019 vs. Oklahoma State)
- Single-season completions (312, 2019)
- Career completions (993)
- Single-season completions percentage (71.7%, 2021)
- Career completion percentage (67.7%)
- Single-season passing yards (3,982)
- Career passing yards (12,170)
- Single-season 300-yard passing games (6, 2019)
- Games with 300 yards of total offense (18)
- Games with 300 yards passing (14)
- Single-game TD passes (5, 2019 vs. Oklahoma)
- Single-season TD passes (27, 2019)
- Career touchdowns passes (81)
- Most TD passes in one quarter (4, 2021 vs. Kansas)
- Consecutive games throwing a TD pass (12, 2019)
- Single-season plays (568, 2019)
- Single-game total offensive yards (510, 2019 vs. UL-Monroe)
- Single-season total offensive yards (4,231, 2019)
- Career total offensive yards (13,347)
- Single-game TDs responsible for (6, 2019 vs. UL-Monroe)
- Single-season TDs responsible for (35, 2019)
- Career TDs responsible for (100)
- Career rushing TDs by QB (19)
Purdy Magic Continues in San Francisco
In just his second season, Purdy led the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl. By doing so, Purdy added to his historic place at the professional level as his legend continues to grow.
In the 2023 season, Purdy displayed the same high-level accuracy and keen decision-making he showcased during his time with the Cyclones. He led the NFL in passer rating and was selected to the Pro Bowl, just kicking off his handful of what will likely be a full record book of NFL marks as well.
Looking similar to the quarterback he was at Iowa State, Purdy threw for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns during the 2023 regular season. That gave him a whopping 44 passing touchdowns through his first two regular seasons.
More importantly, to get to the Super Bowl, Purdy has now won four total playoff games as the starting quarterback of the Niners. He was already the lowest-drafted quarterback to ever start and win a playoff game, now he’s won four.
And he’s hungry for one more this season.
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