Former Iowa State roommates Brock Purdy and Breece Hall are set to face each other for the first time in the NFL this coming season, when the 49ers welcome the New York Jets to Levi's Stadium in Week 1.
The Jets running back was asked about the big "Monday Night Football" showdown and his cousin, 49ers legend Roger Craig, by reporters this week, revealing the nature of his college friendship with Purdy while noting the two haven't spoken ahead of their first game of the 2024 NFL season.
"Nah, I haven't [spoken to Purdy] yet," Hall told reporters after noting facing San Francisco in Week 1 will be a good measuring stick for himself and the Jets. "Me and him are actually overly competitive with each other, so even in college when we played Madden and stuff, whoever won, we wouldn’t talk to each other for the rest of the day.
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"So that’s how it’s going to be until after the game.”
Hall was teammates with Purdy for three seasons at Iowa State, where the pair helped lead one of the most successful stretches in the program's history.
And it's clear that despite their "overly competitive" nature, Hall and Purdy share a fun-loving friendship that certainly will be put on pause as the former Cyclones face off on the gridiron. But off of it, the college roommates have been known to go to bat for each other, with Hall defending Purdy last season when the 49ers quarterback hit a rough patch before San Francisco's bye week in 2023.
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"It's nothing that he hasn't been through before," Hall told "The Rich Eisen Show" last season. "At Iowa State, we weren't perfect. We lost some games, we lost some close games, nail-biters and stuff. He had some heartbreaking plays. I know him. He takes it to heart. He's going to rebound. He's going to play better. I know he is, and I'm not worried about him at all. He's still a great guy, a great quarterback, and I'm excited to see what he does this season."
Purdy rebounded indeed, as the 49ers finished the regular season 12-5 and as the NFC's No. 1 seed before losing Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2024, Purdy and Co. will be looking to bounce back and return to the big game -- this time, hopefully, hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at its end. But first, the 49ers will have to make it through Hall, Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Jets to start it all.
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