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LAS VEGAS — Plenty of football fans on the Wasatch Front will be rooting for the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, likely fans since the days of Steve Young or Alex Smith, or possibly as recently as former BYU star linebacker Fred Warner and Utes punter Mitch Wishnowsky.
Former BYU offensive lineman John Skiba will be angling for a different quarterback to lead the Niners to their first NFL championship since 1995 Sunday at Allegiant Stadium (4:30 p.m. MST, CBS).
Skiba, a former offensive lineman who helped launch BYU into the Mountain West alongside teammate Kalani Sitake in 1998 and 1999 following a career at Ricks College, is a bankruptcy attorney in Queen Creek, Arizona, with more than 40,000 YouTube subscribers who helped coach 49ers starter Brock Purdy through junior high school — long before the former Iowa State standout was Mr. Irrelevant or a 2023 Pro Bowl nominee.
Skiba coached Purdy in junior high football, when he coached his lone son among five daughters alongside Purdy and his brother, Chubba.
"He was great as a little kid," Skiba said during an interview with ESPN radio in Utah County. "He's a great person, too. That's the great thing about Brock and his family, but I remember being with the other coaches, watching this 13-14 kid, and just going, 'dang.' He could play. We had a full-on passing offense because of Brock Purdy."
Purdy's journey from Mr. Irrelevant to Super Bowl starter is a key subplot surrounding the 49ers' bid to unseat the Kansas City Chiefs as one of the more dominant teams in the modern NFL era, with two Super Bowl titles and four AFC championships since 2019.
The 6-foot-1 signal caller has been doubted plenty, but led the NFL this past season in passer rating (113) and yards per attempt (9.6), while adding an ability to throw deep and scramble long in head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense.
Still, Purdy has rarely had much hype around his name. After winning Arizona player of the year as a senior at Perry High in Gilbert, Purdy was a three-star recruit by 247Sports, the No. 10 player in the state.
He eventually had offers from the likes of Alabama, Texas A&M, Illinois and Boise State. But he stayed committed to Iowa State — one of the first Power Five programs to offer him a scholarship, after his recruitment started with the likes of Northern Arizona, UC Davis and Southern Utah — and went on to star for Matt Campbell and the Cyclones.
The two-time All-Big 12 first-team selection threw for 12,170 yards and 81 touchdowns with 33 interceptions in college. But he was still doubted during the 2022 NFL draft, when he fell to the final pick of the draft and Mr. Irrelevant status at No. 262 overall to the 49ers.
Two years later, the 24-year-old Purdy has San Francisco back in the Super Bowl for the second time in five years.
"It doesn't surprise me how well he's done, though," Skiba said. "As great of a player as he is, he's an even better person; you can still see that in his interviews now, but even as a kid."
Purdy has never played with a chip on his shoulder, Skiba recalled of his youth football career, but if he needed one, he certainly could have had it.
"He was always down to business," his former coach said. "Very nice kid, but in athletics, you sometimes have alpha males and ego together, and that's never been him. He was always the guy after practice helping his teammates, especially his offensive line, where I coached. I'm sure all that stuff motivates him a little bit, to have all these people doubting you. But time and again, he keeps proving them wrong."
Skiba hopes he can prove the doubters wrong one more time Sunday.
