Mr. Irrelevant? Brock Purdy Is Anything But at Arizona's Perry High School

Anticipation at Perry High School had been building with each passing period. It's an overcast Thursday afternoon in Gilbert, Arizona, just past 3 p.m. local time, and an assortment of anxious students and faculty huddled together near a campus parking lot. Cold drizzles produced some shivers. But that wasn't enough to distract from the fitting tribute at hand.

After all, it's not every week that an alum plays quarterback in the Super Bowl.

Brock Purdy, the former Perry Puma and current San Francisco 49ers signal-caller, will represent both his school and home state as the first-ever Arizona-born QB to start on Super Bowl Sunday.

In the days leading up to the NFL's biggest game, the Queen Creek kid's alma mater recognized Purdy's journey to Super Bowl LVIII by commemorating an early stop on that championship road. Literally. A newly unveiled "Brock Purdy Way" street sign now prominently hangs outside the school he walked the halls of just six years ago. At this point, it's supposed to be temporary. But the admiration of his devoted hometown crowd appears everlasting.

"We're doing anything we can," Perry's multimedia and film teacher Brian Bernier said in a phone interview with Newsweek on Thursday ahead of the Super Bowl, "to support him and show that we're very, very proud of him here."

Current Puma football players, eyes locked on the traffic post and phones in hand documenting the moment, let out a coordinated roar upon seeing a salute to their idol. Some of the more enthusiastic in the group yelled, "I love Brock Purdy."

For the many teachers still around who recall a well-mannered, humble high school student—now turned Pro Bowler—this effort went to a more-than-deserving recipient. To most, Purdy is best known as "Mr. Irrelevant." At Perry, though, he's anything but that label.

"Brock is like one of our own kids," said Lerina Johnson, a physical education instructor and student council advisor at Perry, in a phone interview with Newsweek this week. "...Our family member is going to the Super Bowl."

Perry High's Signs of Support

A seemingly ordinary football practice in Purdy's freshman year at Perry eventually revealed its one wild card factor. Bernier was suiting up, too.

There was an ongoing bit at the school that year, coined "Glory Days," that saw teachers participate in various athletic activities. For Bernier—a former college football player at Sonoma State University who went on to work in video operations with both USC and the NFL's Arizona Cardinals—that meant strapping on shoulder pads and buckling up a chin strap again. Eventually, the film teacher got what he recalls as his formal introduction to the school's now-famous QB.

"They ran an option play at me, and I'm playing outside linebacker,' Bernier said. "And Brock kinda comes at me; I'm slow-playing him, and he fakes to the running back and cuts up inside me. Totally broke my ankles and went right by me. Like nothing. I went, 'Who in the heck is this guy?'"

That question would have a clear answer soon enough.

Purdy secured two first-team all-state selections in high school, including during a senior season that saw him set 6A passing records for yards (4,405) and touchdowns (57). But like NFL fans would eventually see on Sundays, the QB's Friday Night career was full of what may have seemed like insurmountable odds.

There's the time he lost 27 pounds from a bout of mono, only to return three games into his junior season and lead the team on a deep playoff push. And when he faced a shortage of recruiting offers? Within a few-week span his senior year, that turned into more than a dozen, which—of course—led Purdy to Iowa State, where he became the winningest QB in program history and, fittingly, won a Fiesta Bowl near home in Glendale.

And as the story goes, the 49ers selected Purdy with the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft, only for a few QB injuries to clear the way for a career unlike one the NFL had previously seen.

Purdy's presence continues to loom large inside Perry High, and that was true even before he became an NFL starter. His Arizona Football Gatorade Player of the Year banner still hangs prominently in the school's gymnasium. The Ed Doherty Award he won—practically the Heisman Trophy of Arizona high school football—is in a display case.

This week, though, things have gone to another level.

Driving to school the morning after San Francisco's NFC Championship Game win over the Green Bay Packers, Bernier thought of the idea to honor the freshman quarterback he once failed to tackle with a street dedication. And what better highlight to go along with "Brock Purdy Spirit Week?" Thousands of customized "Brock Nation" shirts, donated by a 2011 graduate, were also distributed to the student body on Thursday.

No. 13 49ers jerseys are aplenty at Perry—even with kids who don't necessarily care for the team. Sorry, Cardinals. And if some Perry pride wasn't enough, there are also a series of billboards wishing Purdy luck around the area—oh, and the city of Chandler is inducting the QB into its Hall of Fame later this month.

Purdy, sadly, can't experience this warm reception himself. But word has reached him in Vegas.

"Perry High School, just the people, the teachers, the community, I had so many great people in my life from Perry that have believed in me from day one, you know, when I wasn't getting offers and scholarships," Purdy said.

"So I'm always appreciative of them, and they've always had my back through college and the NFL. So, I love Perry High School and will always rep them...I love the state of Arizona and everyone that's been a part of my life. And obviously, I'm trying to represent them as best as I can for as long as my career goes."

Purdy, Off the Football Field

Early last year, only a few months removed from a season-ending NFC title game loss that saw Purdy leave with an elbow injury, the QB made a trip back to his old stomping ground.

"He just didn't miss a beat," Bernier said. "Asking about how our families were, asking about how our kids were. We wanted to know about the elbow. Like, 'What's going on with the elbow?' And he's like, 'Oh, the elbow is fine.'"

And interactions like that, as his teachers put it, explain why Purdy is so easy to root for.

If you're walking by Purdy, Johnson said, you never had to open a door for yourself. "Sir" and "ma'am" are as natural to him as pre-snap motion is to Kyle Shanahan's playbook.

When Purdy was at Iowa State, and Johnson sought a message to share with her badminton team, the QB quickly relayed back a video. Not that Purdy is one to desire the spotlight or make himself the center of attention—a fact that some fans like to point to regarding the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder's less-than-flashy wardrobe.

"When a couple college coaches came by," Johnson said, "I would be walking by into the gym where I had practice, and I heard one say, 'OK, is he putting on a show? Or is this really who he is?' In my head, I just wanted to turn and yell, 'This is who he is!' He's that great of a kid."

Added Bernier, who would often interview Purdy and film his games: "Nothing about him has been manufactured or changed."

Staff members at Perry who never bothered with sports, Bernier said, now wear 49ers gear frequently. Consider it the Purdy effect. An art teacher who doesn't particularly watch or enjoy football went to the trouble of making her own Purdy t-shirts, the film instructor said.

Is it the buzz of being associated with an NFL star? Maybe a bit. But there's a more personal explanation that goes beyond any hardware or impressive statsheet as to why Purdy is so revered.

"A lot of our staff members are extremely proud of him, and more so because of the person he is," Johnson said. "...We're just so proud and happy for him because he is such a great guy. The impact he's made on us from being that great kid—we're electrified with excitement over here."

Purdy's Perry Super Bowl Company

Purdy took the main stage inside Allegiant Stadium on Super Bowl opening night ahead of his clash with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.

The Lombardi Trophy was within his grasp, and his positional adversary—Patrick Mahomes—stood just off to his side. 49ers fans filled the venue with deafening "Pur-dy! Pur-dy! Pur-dy!" chants. When the second-year pro takes the field under even more surreal circumstances a little before 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, one of the many fans in the crowd chanting his name on that occasion will be repping a familiar look.

Very familiar.

Johnson plans on driving up to Vegas on Saturday night and is willing to pay a hefty price to get into the game. Once there, the Perry teacher may stand out in the crowd. The Steelers fan, who once teased Purdy about begrudgingly cheering for him if he were drafted by the hated Dallas Cowboys, said she would be sporting a Perry Puma flag and wearing one of the QB's old high school jerseys to the game—one she was never going to skip.

"I said this from the beginning: 'If Brock Purdy makes it to the Super Bowl, I am going,'" Johnson said. "And I'm gonna go. I know it's gonna cost me a good $4,000 or $5,000 to get a ticket, but I won't miss it."

The 49ers are seeking their first title since the 1994 season. Purdy could join Joe Montana and Steve Young in the franchise's championship-winning history.

"Could" is the key word. Until the result is certain, Bernier will be nervously pacing about at his Super Bowl watch party, knowing there's nothing he can do.

The same can probably be said for many Pumas in the area with new-found allegiances to the 49ers. Johnson is aware of the "system QB" hate her former student will surely face again if anything goes wrong. The thought that always comes to mind? Prove them wrong.

And that would hardly be a first for the beloved Perry QB.

"Win or lose, my heart and mind know he's going to try his best," Johnson said. "Always. He'll give his best, and I'll be proud of him either way. He's made it this far. It's incredible."