Herm Edwards is getting called out for his comments on Arizona State’s recruitment, or lack thereof, of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy when he was in high school.
Purdy, who played at Perry High School in Gilbert, Ariz., a stone’s throw from ASU’s Tempe campus, was by most accounts not a priority for Edwards during his first recruiting cycle as the Sun Devils’ head coach in early 2018.
Edwards told a different tale Monday during an ESPN Radio appearance.
“I always knew what kind of quarterback Brock Purdy was. I recruited him out of high school. But he ended up going to Iowa,” Edwards said, according to Arizona sportscaster Tim Ring; Purdy went to Iowa State.
Donnie Yantis, who was Arizona State’s recruiting coordinator in 2018, told SunDevilSource on Tuesday that he visited Purdy at Perry HS in December 2017 to tell him the school would take him as a preferred walk-on, and the school only tried to offer him a scholarship after he had received his Iowa State offer.
Purdy rejected it.
“I’ve said this since the day I first watched his HS film… Brock Purdy is a winner,” Yantis wrote on his X account during the 49ers’ win over the Lions on Sunday to reach Super Bowl 2024. “And to think our staff didn’t offer him… I shook my head then and have been since then… all the young man has done is win.. at Perry HS, @CycloneFB, and now w the @49ers.”
According to DevilsDigest, even Edwards’ predecessor, Todd Graham, didn’t recruit Purdy, who wanted to stay home and play for Arizona State.
“Incredible lack of self-awareness,” Ring wrote on X. “But I guess when you can just pocket a few mil after destroying a program & then just waltz back into your TV job & get fawned over by every host there – you feel empowered & somewhat teflon- just say whatever the hell you want. Truth be damned.”
Purdy, 24, started 46 games over four years at Iowa State, throwing for 12,170 yards, 81 touchdowns and 33 interceptions while winning 29 of his starts.
He was the “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 2022 NFL Draft, selected by the 49ers with the final pick, and helped lead them as a rookie to the NFC Championship game, which he was knocked out of after suffering an elbow injury.
Now he’ll be the third-youngest quarterback to ever start a Super Bowl when the 49ers face the Chiefs in Super Bowl 2024 on Feb. 11.
Edwards, the former Jets coach, lasted four-plus seasons with Arizona State, going 26-20; he was fired three games into the 2022 season.
He then quickly rejoined ESPN as an analyst.
