New San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall arrived in Santa Clara this morning, ready to tour his new NFL home before speaking with the media. Pearsall briefly spoke to reporters via Zoom on Thursday night after learning that the 49ers had selected him as the No. 31 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. During that conversation, he revealed that he had once played against Brock Purdy in high school, acknowledging that the now-49ers quarterback had put up about 70 points against his team.
Pearsall had an opportunity to speak to Purdy after learning they had become teammates.
"He just reached out to me this morning, just congratulating me, saying, 'We're going to get to work,'" Pearsall shared. "... We're gonna get to work, for sure. And he's from Arizona, so we're gonna get a lot of throwing sessions."
Another new teammate who reached out to Pearsall after he was drafted was wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who had played with Pearsall for one season at Arizona State before the rookie transferred to Florida. When asked whom he models his play after, Pearsall was quick to name Aiyuk.
"Somebody I watched a lot was Brandon Aiyuk," Pearsall said. "He was my teammate. I got to watch him [during my] freshman year, and it just felt like every time he touched the ball, or it was thrown his way, he was taking it to the house. Watching a dude like that really helped me, seeing what it takes to get to that next level."
Pearsall added that he also watches other NFL star receivers like Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, Keenan Allen of the Chicago Bears, Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns.
"Just stealing things from them," Pearsall admitted. "They're doing it at a high level, having high success at it. So, I feel like if I put that into my game, it's only going to make me a better football player at the end of the day."
Pearsall also had the opportunity to meet another teammate in Arizona, where he ran into wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
"He's over [there] training in Arizona, too, so that's kind of how I met him," Pearsall said. "But yeah, he's good people, too."