One of the biggest stars in Super Bowl LVIII has a connection to one of the biggest non-Super Bowl stories in sports at the moment.
The quarterback who backed up Brock Purdy at Iowa State is the older brother of Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark . Blake Clark played at Iowa State from 2018-22, overlapping with Purdy’s time in Ames for four seasons.
In fact, they built such a strong bond during their college days that the 49ers quarterback is including Clark in his upcoming wedding.
“Blake Clark is one of my best friends,” Purdy told reporters at Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday. “He’s going to be in my wedding.”
The eldest Clark sibling didn’t see the field much during his time with the Cyclones, in part because of Purdy’s success. Purdy quarterbacked one of the best four-year stretches in the history of Iowa State’s program, leading the Cyclones to four consecutive winning seasons for the first time in nearly 100 years (1923-27). He also holds 32 program records, such as passing yards (12,170) and passing touchdowns (81). Clark, meanwhile, threw only one pass in his college career, mostly serving as the holder on the field goal team.