While the emergence of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy surprised pretty much everyone across the league, his arrival wasn't quite as shocking to head coach Kyle Shanahan.

NFL and 49ers fans got a first glimpse of Brock Purdy when he came in for Jimmy Garoppolo early in the game versus the Miami Dolphins and Purdy still led the team to a win. He then overtook Tom Brady in his first NFL start on the way to leading the 49ers to a conference championship appearance.

However, Kyle Shanahan saw Purdy's potential before his rookie season even started during OTA's. During an appearance on Tim Kawakami’s “The TK Show,” Shanahan spoke on his Purdy realization saying, By the end of OTAs, I was like, ‘man, this young guy is a machine. I don’t if we’re going to be able to keep him on the practice squad because he’s probably going to do well in the season,” per Kyle Posey of Niners Nation.

Even though Purdy's performance in the offseason kept him on the roster, Shanahan admits he didn't fully know Purdy was the real deal until a crucial week 15 matchup against the division rival Seattle Seahawks.

Shanahan said, “I think he had broken ribs that Thursday. I remember when he took his shot during pre-game warmups he couldn’t throw because it was still hurting in that area. I’m sitting there going through the openers not knowing if he could throw or not.

So he’s waiting for that to kick in, and I’m thinking should I go with Josh Johnson or not, who had been with us for two days. Then Brock is like, I think I could do it. Then watching him in that game knowing how hurt he was and watching him manage the game and some of the plays he made to move the chains on 3rd & 1 scrambling.

I knew we had a dude who was made up the right way who could handle the pressure and stuff … It was proven,” per Kyle Posey.

With Purdy on track to return from his elbow injury in time for the 2023 season, 49ers fans can trust in their new quarterback for another playoff run.