Jimmy Garoppolo learned from the best as Tom Brady’s understudy in New England for three years.
But according to teammate Joe Staley, his greatest strength is that he doesn’t need to be a superstar for San Francisco to be champions.
The 49ers quarterback was little-used in the NFC Championship Game victory over Green Bay that saw San Francisco qualify for Sunday’s Super Bowl here against Kansas City.
The 49ers used their running backs instead to wear down the Packers and Staley insists Garoppolo deserves a lot of credit for being the ultimate team player.
Staley said: “He’s an unbelievable human being. Guys love being around him. He’s very genuine. He’s a salt-of-the-earth guy.
“But his preparation is what gets a lot of respect. He knows every single detail of this offence and he plays with incredible passion for the game. He makes you want to be better.
“We have the utmost confidence in him to do whatever needs to be done. We have had plenty of games this season where we have had to lean on him heavily to win the game for us and he has come through every single time.
“It’s a complete team effort. [Last week] is another example of this team being selfless. You have the quarterback who couldn’t care less if he throws for 500 yards or 10 yards – he just wants to win the game, and the entire team is like that.”
Staley, who has been with the 49ers for his entire 13-year career, lost in the Super Bowl seven years ago but learned some lessons to help him and his teammates this week.
He said: “My Super Bowl experience was a long time ago. Something I can draw from that is how chaotic it is.
“I’ve been telling a lot of the younger guys so that they know what to expect.
"The distractions are not so much the game, but all of a sudden you have 20 family members down there, and everybody wants to have an experience.
“It surprised me a little bit, more so the media obligations. It’s almost a hundred times what you’ve done in your entire career. It’s a little overwhelming at first.”
