Purdy, notable 49ers QBs offer sage advice to Notre Dame’s Leonard

Purdy, notable 49ers QBs offer sage advice to Notre Dame’s Leonard originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area

For a rising college quarterback with professional aspirations, there’s no better panel to join than one featuring four past and present NFL quarterbacks carrying resumes decorated with an abundance of Super Bowl experiences, stories of perseverance and high accolades.

That was the reality for Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard on Thursday night when he was lucky enough to snag a spot — or an opportunity to pick brains — at the annual event. Dwight Clark’s Legacy series event at the California Theater in San Jose. There, notorious 49ers signal-callers Brock Purdy, Steve Young, Jeff Garcia and Alex Smith spread wisdom.

Leonard, 21, enters his first and likely final season with the Fighting Irish after transferring from Duke after three seasons. There, he recorded 382 completions, 4,450 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and healthy 2025 NFL Draft aspirations.

Every San Francisco Icon had different offerings for the eager to learn Leonard, collectively being great teachers. In order, here’s how Smith, Garcia, Young and Purdy empowered their fellow quarterbacks.

alex smith

Smith, a retired 16-year NFL veteran, spent eight seasons with San Francisco after being selected first overall in the 2005 project.

He offered Leonard sound advice on how to enjoy the highs and lows of being an athlete.

“I think you have confidence in yourself, right? You are good enough,” Smith said, backed by loud applause. “I think your best is good enough. I think so too, and this is going to have so many clichés coming out now, but like, enjoy the process, right? I think we get so tied to a destination and it’s certainly important to set goals, but only your habits make the biggest difference… And again, all of us – whether you’re the first or last choice – the path isn’t easy. ”

Smith knows all about overcoming adversity and embracing various paths and processes.

In his third season with the 49ers, Smith broke his throwing shoulder and missed the end of that campaign and what would have been his fourth. Then, after suffering a concussion in the second half of his eighth season with San Francisco, Smith lost his job to up-and-coming Colin Kaepernick, ending his tenure with the 49ers.

Smith had more success in terms of records over four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, but never got the ring he wanted. Instead, he ended up in Washington in 2018 and suffered one of the most horrific injuries in the history of the sport, via a life-threatening compound fracture of his right tibia and fibula.

Regardless, Smith returned to the football field, capping off one of the greatest comeback stories in NFL history, before hanging up his jersey for good during the 2021 offseason.

“There will be struggles,” Smith reiterated. “Embrace the fight. You were meant to go through this and it would be better if you had, right? I think yes. Adversity often hits me and I’ve been there – it’s too heavy, you don’t want it, it’s uncomfortable. But you know, you get to the other side and that’s where the growth happens. That’s where improvement happens.”

Few athletes have suffered a career-changing injury like Smith, nor returned to the sport at the highest level like him.

Jeff Garcia

Garcia was a rookie with the 49ers at age 29 – that’s all you need to know about his determination and dedication to football.

The San Jose State product was overlooked as a draft prospect and played five seasons in the CFL — the first behind Doug Flutie — before backing up San Francisco legend Steve Young in the NFL.

Like Smith, Garcia advised Leonard to “embrace” not only the journey, but also what he’s doing right now.

“First of all, enjoy the moment,” Garcia said. “You still have one more year of college football. You have the opportunity to be the best you can be for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish… It’s a precious and special opportunity ahead of you.

“I mean, my kids – at 12 years old, ‘So, dad, which professional football team do you think I’m going to play for?’ And I say, ‘None. You don’t even play Pop Warner yet. Like, first be good here, be good now.’ Be the best you can be now. Everything else will take care of itself if you maximize your opportunity.

“There are only so many opportunities in life. Hell, I was a 29 year old rookie, not a 21 year old rookie. I mean, I had hair everywhere – not anymore. But that being said, you have opportunities in life, as we all know [they’re] very precious and few.”

Garcia finished his career as a four-time NFL Pro Bowl selection. However, he was an unnamed backup at first.

He made a point of highlighting preparation when speaking with Leonard, describing a meticulous readiness that can take years or seconds to demonstrate.

“Are you prepared to take advantage of the opportunity? Have you done the necessary work mentally, physically [and] Everyone must be prepared when the time comes to capitalize on this?” Garcia asked. “Do it now. Think about it now. So you can ask these questions about, ‘Hey, what’s it like being a rookie quarterback?’

“Hey, there are few people who can be in this position and you still have one more year to show that you are worthy of it.”

Garcia played age 29-33 seasons with the 49ers after signing a free agent contract with the team. He, like Smith, never won the big one, but left a fan favorite in San Francisco.

Young Steve

Young needs no introduction.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer and retired 15-year NFL veteran, who virtually holds every 49ers quarterback record and many at the position across the league, was blunt in his advice to Leonard: See Purdy.

“Brock, I want to ask you, because… you have a superpower [in] is being sued and the idea that as a young player you jumped onto the field [against the] Miami Dolphins and start processing,” Young asked Purdy. “How would you tell him to prepare to do this?

Processing the game is everything for a quarterback and it’s something Purdy quickly had to do after moving from third to first on 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s depth chart as a rookie.

Young, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, three-time Super Bowl champion and three-time AP All-Pro, read a lot on the field in his day. But he suggests Purdy can help Leonard more than most, as the San Francisco quarterback is just three years older and was the four-year college player the Notre Dame quarterback aims to be.

“For me, that’s it,” Young added. “If you could have this quality in you [Purdy] and spread that across all the quarterbacks, we would be very blessed. And how would you describe how ready you were to process from the beginning?

Brock Purdy

Leonard and the crowd were certainly blessed.

Purdy has done a lot for the 49ers in such a short amount of time. However, he, like Garcia, suggested a relatively slower approach for Leonard, where the prospect should focus on the present.

“Yeah, I mean, it hits Jeff’s point just in terms of being where you are now, playing now [and] I’m not trying to jump to the conclusion of getting to the NFL that quickly,” Purdy described. “Like, there’s a process in life, and I feel like a lot of people these days just want to skip the process. They want to get places because they see guys where they are and they don’t want to, you know, go through the good and the bad and all that kind of stuff.”

Purdy was an MVP finalist in his stellar 2023 NFL season. He suggests that most players want to reach maximum status – or at least close to it – without investing the time necessary to get there.

Instead, the wise 24-year-old advises Leonard to stick with what works for him and take advantage of his four-year college career.

After all, it was in college that Purdy believes he was prepared for what the NFL threw at him.

“But what I would say is I played four years at Iowa State, so all those defense reps and schemes, like all those things, added up,” Purdy concluded nonchalantly. “Just preparing for the game, everything, man. Seeing different safety structures, blitzes, you name it, all those things added up when I came in against Miami, man, it was, I was like, I feel like I’m back at Iowa State playing 11-on-11.

“Then yes. I hope this helps.”

The 49ers’ decorated quarterbacks did not disappoint in providing Leonard with top-notch information and advice.

The theme of embracing one’s journey reigned supreme in the quartet’s responses, but the real takeaway was everyone’s willingness to pass on their knowledge.

Leonard certainly has a lot to consider heading into his senior year at Notre Dame.

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