George Kittle loves playing with Brock Purdy, even if the 49ers QB went 0-4 in CyHawk

Just because you used to be mortal enemies on Saturday doesn't mean you can't be the best of friends on Sunday. George Kittle and Brock Purdy used to play on rival teams for the CyHawk Trophy played annually between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones. Although Purdy was a tremendous player while at Iowa State, his Cyclones never got the best of Kittle's beloved Hawkeyes.

The morning after the San Francisco 49ers' NFC West-clinching victory over the Arizona Cardinals last week, I had the opportunity to speak with Kittle over the phone on behalf of Alka-Seltzer for FanSided. It was late morning for me, but bright and early for Kittle out there on the West Coast. As expected, the loquacious Kittle was as sprightly as I could ever hope to be after a few cups of coffee.

Midway through our conversation, I asked Kittle about his 49ers quarterback and what makes him so special. It is simple, really. Kittle loves Purdy's confidence and how he just goes about his business.

"Well, besides being incredibly talented, like, he's got arm talent, he's got the brains for it, he's got the will for it. He's got the confidence in himself, he believes in himself. He just kind of exudes or lets off this confidence, and it's not cocky by any means because he's incredibly humbled, and he doesn't like talking about himself, which is awesome."

There's a thin line between being confident and being cocky, and Purdy seems to straddle it perfectly.

"You want guys to understand that they're not God's greatest gift, but when you can take a deep breath and have that confidence, especially at the quarterback position, it really leaks off to all your other players."

Purdy despises talking about himself, but he lets his play and his teammates do the talking for him.

"Brock does such a great job every single day. He's consistent. He's an animal. You can just see when he throws one of those awesome passes just celebrating, taking the moment by himself, like screaming at the ground. That's the type of player you wanna be with because you can tell he's so competitive. All he wants to do is play at a high level and win."

Thus, it is no surprise that Purdy is the perfect quarterback to lead the 49ers to the promised land.

George Kittle speaks on Brock Prudy's greatness and CyHawk allegiances

My next question to Kittle about Purdy had everything to do with CyHawk. Like, did they have a bet going on from this past year's game? Purdy was a rookie a season ago and Mr. Irrelevant coming out of Iowa State, so I ventured to guess there wasn't a wager placed on last year's game. However, given Purdy's ascension to national relevancy, I had a feeling Kittle knew about him and his Iowa State ties.

"Aware of him? Yes, 100 percent. But I'm most aware of that Brock is 0-4 against Iowa. So I have that on him for the rest of his career. But yeah, no. I mean, this year when Iowa won, he wore a Herky the Hawkeye mascot head for his interview on Wednesday. That was pretty fun for me. Anything to get Brock in some Iowa gear."

I wish I was in person to see Kittle's face reacting to Purdy rock the Herky the Hawkeye mascot head.

While it is all fun and games in college football, this is the NFL. It is big business, and nobody is expected to do more in the postseason than these 49ers. They are 11-3 and well on their way towards having home-field advantage in the postseason. If the NFC Playoffs run through Levi's, good luck trying to stop Kyle Shanahan's team from getting to Las Vegas as this year's NFC representative.

Overall, everybody within the 49ers organization seems to be pulling in the same direction. No matter where you came from, what you look like, or who you root for on Saturdays, it is all about Niners football on fall Sundays. It has been a painfully long time since Steve Young and the 1994 team clobbered the then-San Diego Chargers in the Super Bowl. Kittle and Purdy do not remember that...

If all goes according to plan, Kittle and Purdy should be side by side, hoisting the Lombardi together.

George Kittle spoke to FanSided on behalf of Alka-Seltzer.

Kittle is partnering with Alka-Seltzer to help fans SAY YES to going big on game day without any unwanted symptoms taking them down.

Alka-Seltzer has a variety of solutions to provide fast relief so George can stay in the game – from cold and flu to hangovers and heartburn.

This season, George is encouraging fans to FIZZ and FLEX on game day knowing that Alka-Seltzer has their back and will help them tackle any symptoms that could get in the way of their game day celebrations.

To celebrate saying YES all season long, Alka-Seltzer is running a sweepstakes from now until January 7th calling on fans to share a photo or video on Instagram of how they #FizzAndFlex on game days for a chance to win $30,000 for the ultimate game day celebration. Additional prizes will be awarded weekly, helping fans celebrate the season to the fullest.