Nov 30, 2019; Manhattan, KS, USA; Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy (15) scrambles with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Over the next several weeks, we will start diving into the Iowa State football team, position-by-position, leading up to the start of spring practice next month. First up, the quarterbacks.
The Guy – Brock Purdy
I mean, duh.
The junior from Gilbert, Ariz. joined Seneca Wallace as the only Cyclone quarterbacks to earn first or second-team All-Big 12 honors this past season when he was named second-team by the league’s coaches. That came after Purdy completed the most prolific season by a quarterback in program history, setting school records with 3,982 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, 312 completions, 4,231 yards of total offense and six 300-yard passing games.
Purdy was the first Iowa State quarterback since 2008 to start every game on the team’s schedule, but still has plenty of room for growth entering his third season as the program’s starter, most notably in knowing when to throw the ball away or to tuck it and use his highly-capable legs to run the ball. Entering his junior season, Purdy’s career marks rank first in program history in passing efficiency, first in 300-yard passing games, second in completion percentage, third in passing yards, third in touchdown passes, fourth in completions and fourth in total offense.
Next Man Up – Aidan Bouman
One of two quarterbacks in Iowa State’s 2020 recruiting class, Bouman, the son of former NFL quarterback Todd Bouman, enrolled early in Ames and will get a jump on earning the backup quarterback position this spring.
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Buffalo, Minn. native arrives on campus as one of the most productive quarterbacks in Minnesota high school history after compiling 9,578 yards and 94 passing touchdowns during a prep career that saw him earn all-state honors as a junior and senior, plus being a finalist for the state’s Mr. Football and Gatorade Player of the Year awards as a senior. Bouman brings college-ready size and a big arm to fill in the spot left by Re-al Mitchell’s transfer from the program, but he will almost certainly be pushed once his classmate, Hunter Dekkers, the all-time leading passing Iowa high school history, arrives on campus this summer.
The Others
Blake Clark, R-So., West Des Moines, Iowa, 6-foot-2, 210-pounds
Devin Larsen, R-Fr., Gilbert, Ariz., 6-foot-4, 219-pounds
