Iowa State football's NFL quarterback fraternity members reflect on Brock Purdy's success

Seemingly the whole sports world was entertained over the last two months as Iowa State legend, San Francisco 49er and Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy defied what was thought to be possible in the NFL.

The last pick in the 2022 draft was thrust into the spotlight when the 49ers lost their top two quarterbacks, and Purdy responded by winning eight straight games to became the talk of the NFL before it ended with injury and defeat Jan. 29 in the NFC title game.

Among those captivated, though, is a small fraternity of men who have a special appreciation, respect and admiration for what Purdy did during his time as the sport’s darling. It’s a tiny group of which Purdy now counts himself a member.

Iowa State NFL quarterbacks.

Purdy’s inclusion now makes five Cyclones who have started multiple NFL games, joining Tim Van Galder (1972), Dave Archer (1984-89), Sage Rosenfels (2002-2010) and Seneca Wallace (2005-13).

“I’m living vicariously through him and reliving some of my memories, which was really cool for me,” Archer told the Register. “I was just pulling as hard as I could possibly for him.”

More:What NFL media are saying about former Iowa State QB Brock Purdy after NFC championship loss

Van Galder, who died in 2022, started five games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972. Archer made 55 career starts, most notably over two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, where he’s now part of the franchise’s radio team. Rosenfels started 12 and Wallace 22 over their careers.

“There’s not a lot of us that went on to play in the league,” Archer said, “so you always gravitate to those guys.”

That small cadre of players was part of Purdy’s pro preparation as well. Prior to the draft, Purdy worked out in Florida at the QB Collective, where Rosenfels is a coach.

“It is a very small fraternity,” Rosenfels told the Register, “and it was great to try to help a guy who had broken all the records at Iowa State and was such an impressive player for the program and really an ambassador to Iowa State University and the football program.”

More:How Brock Purdy prepared for the NFL draft with Sage Rosenfels — by watching the 49ers

What the former Cyclone quarterbacks saw Purdy do at their alma mater wasn’t much different than what they saw him do as he took the NFL by storm. He went from third-stringer to starter – not unlike how he began his record-breaking Iowa State career.

“It certainly harkens back to his experience in college as a starter very early on in his career at Iowa State,” Archer said. "I’m sure he (thought) back to those days when he stepped in as a young player at Iowa State. He didn’t let that situation get to him. If you can make things relative based on where you are in your career, it’s not any different than being in the league.

“If you put it in context, the biggest thing in the world to him was stepping in as an Iowa State starter as a young player that had never played at that level before. That’s not any different than stepping in and playing in the National Football League.

“He had experience doing stuff like that and he was being counted on at the highest possible level at Iowa State, which is what they were going to do with him with the 49ers. He knew what to go to.”

More:Inside the high school classic between Iowa State's Brock Purdy, Oregon's Tyler Shough

Ultimately, though, the story ended abruptly when Purdy suffered an elbow injury in the opening drive of the NFC title game. He was ultimately pressed back into action when his backup, Josh Johnson, left the game in the concussion protocol.

Purdy, though, was clearly not able to perform as usual, with the offense limited to handoffs and the rare screen pass.

Testing Monday revealed a torn ligament in his elbow that is expected to sideline him six months.

“When you get that opportunity to be at that level they made it to, you want to play,” Wallace said Monday on KXNO radio in Des Moines. “But at the end of the day, if you can’t play, you have to go to somebody else.

“Everybody wanted to see Brock Purdy do his thing out there."

Even with the sour ending, Purdy’s story was one that electrified the NFL, a devoted Iowa State alumni base and the small club he just joined.

“He’s the exact type of guy you’d want,” Rosenfels said. “As a former guy, you root for guys like that and want to try to help them as well because he did so much for my school.”

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Brock Purdy joined a small group of Cyclones QBs to play in the NFL