Not many people who watched Brock Purdy play at Iowa State expected him to become one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, but Patrick Mahomes says he did.

Mahomes, who will face off with Purdy in Super Bowl LVIII, said he used to watch Purdy in college and expected him to make it in the NFL.

“I’ve seen Brock play since college, I knew how good he was,” Mahomes said at Super Bowl Opening Night. “I watched him play — I watch the Big 12 a lot so I watched him play a ton. He was a winner and he made plays happen all through his college career. Usually when you can make it happen in college, no matter what your surroundings are, and turn around a program like he did at Iowa State, you’re going to make it happen when you get your opportunity in the NFL. So I wasn’t very surprised he’s had the success that he’s had because he’s a winner and he’s a guy that goes out there and competes, and I’ve always said, more than a football player, you’ve got to be someone who competes, and he’s always been one of those guys.”

Mahomes may have seen Purdy’s success coming, but no one else did: Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant because NFL teams weren’t expecting him to be the kind of quarterback who’d be starting in the Super Bowl in his second season. Mahomes is one of the few who isn’t surprised by what Purdy has accomplished in the NFL.