'He was debating on whether to go' - Brock Purdy's conversation with a college football head coach led to a hire that rocked the sport

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had a conversation with a college football head coach a few years ago that had a massive impact on the sport. 

Back in late 2021, Purdy, who had just wrapped up his senior season at Iowa State, met with his head coach, Matt Campbell, after the Cyclones' regular season had ended. 

At the time, Campbell was being pursued by the USC Trojans for their head coaching vacancy (USC was looking to replace Clay Helton). 

USC supposedly made Campbell an offer. Trojan Wire, in fact, reported that the job was Campbell's if he wanted it. 

Campbell was struggling with whether to take the job or not when he met with Purdy. 

The conversation between Purdy and Campbell likely played a big role in Campbell’s decision to stay at Iowa State (USC subsequently hired Lincoln Riley away from the Oklahoma Sooners). 

Purdy recounted that conversation during a recent appearance on Bussin with the Boys. 

"My senior year, I was leaving, I was out the door, and we met with him after my senior night," said Purdy. "He was crying pretty hard our senior night. And everyone's like, alright, like, what's going on? You could tell there was something going on. Like, a he's going to leave kind of thing. I met with him the next day, and I think USC offered him something legit before [hiring] Lincoln Riley. So when they offered him some stuff, he was just debating on whether to go. He's from Ohio. He's a midwest guy.

"I actually brought my dad with me the next day when I met with him and we talked. I was like, 'Dude, my dad was in my life, like he coached me up, [hit me] ground balls, all the meetings -- my dad was with me, he was there, and I'm so grateful for that'. And he was talking about out in LA, it's just a different world compared to the midwest and the work he's used to and being in his kids' lives. It would just be a different kind of environment. And not knocking USC or California. I'm not knocking anything. It's just different. And so after that, he was crying and we were going through it emotionally and stuff. But after that, he decided [that he was going to] stay at Iowa State. I'm not saying I was the determining factor in that, but I think I gave him a little perspective on being a father, what matters, raising your kids. He could do that at Iowa State in Ames, Iowa."