North Carolina State University Athletics
Senior Spotlight: FB Tyler Purvis
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. - No football until high school.
That was the rule established by Tyler Purvis’ mother when he was growing up. It seemed to work out just fine for the family, as Tyler is in the final year of a successful career with the Wolfpack and his older brother Ryan played football at Boston College and then for the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League.
“My mom wouldn’t let any of us play football until ninth grade because she said our bones were still growing,” Tyler said during an October interview inside the media room of the Wendell H. Murphy Center, NC State football’s state-of-the-art operations facility.
“She wanted us to start late, so I didn’t start playing until ninth grade. It took me about a year to get used to it, but then I really started finding my niche.”
Purvis found his niche with time: versatility. Throughout his high school days at Lancaster Catholic and his college career at NC State, the 6-foot-2 fullback has spent time at wide receiver, safety, and tight end before ultimately ending up at his current position.
A first team All-Lancaster Lebanon League selection as a senior, Purvis pestered opposing defenses each and every game, catching 15 touchdown passes during his final season of high school football.
“I’ve always had good hands and have been able to catch the ball well, so when I first came here I was a tight end,” Purvis said. “I was a little bit undersized and a few injuries happened, so they switched me to fullback.
“Fullback is obviously a very physical position, and it took me a little while to get used to hitting, because in high school I would just catch the ball and run. I didn’t have to block too much.”
Purvis has played in 29 straight games spanning two and a half seasons. During the Wolfpack’s first 11 games of the 2014 campaign, he has caught six passes for a total of 56 yards, including three during the Pack’s recent homestand against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.
“I’m glad I made the switch, because playing fullback has allowed me some opportunities I don’t think I would have had at tight end.”
The native of Reinholds, Pa., came to NC State as a preferred walk-on and worked very hard to move up within the program.
“After two years and making the switch to fullback, I ended up starting during my redshirt freshman year. I went up to (then-coach) Tom O’Brien and asked about a scholarship, because he had mentioned I’d be rewarded for working my way onto the two-deep.”
The former Wolfpack head coach informed Purvis that those decisions would be made after spring practice.
“Basically, I understood that to mean ‘have a good spring and everything will work out.’ I worked hard to have a good spring and was told at the end I had received a scholarship.”
“That was pretty awesome. It was very nerve-wracking to approach the head coach on a regular day, let alone to ask him for a scholarship. I was definitely nervous and I couldn’t really believe it when I get out of there. I just shook his hand and walked out.”
In addition to his reliability on the football field, Purvis is a very accomplished student who has already earned a degree in marketing and is working towards a second degree in economics. He completed his marketing degree in just three years while along the way he earned Academic All-ACC honors in 2013 and a place on the 2011-12 ACC Academic Honor Roll.
Purvis also spends time volunteering with an organization called Uplifting Athletes. He is currently the vice president of the group.
“Uplifting Athletes is a non-profit organization run by football student athletes all over the country,” Purvis explained. “I think there are more than 30 organizations around now. It raises money for rare diseases and the disease we focused on is a rare form of leukemia.
“It’s a great organization. We’ve had three Lift for Life events and raised more than $10,000 combined. It’s something that we are pretty proud of because we are helping with something bigger than us.”
Though there is still plenty to play for throughout the rest of his senior season, Purvis has numerous positive memories from his time with the Wolfpack football program. The aforementioned scholarship is one of the brightest spots, while a specific game against a ranked Georgia Tech team on Oct. 1, 2011 also stands out in his mind.
“Against Georgia Tech my redshirt freshman year, Taylor Gentry unfortunately got hurt and I was the number two fullback behind him. I started the second half of the game and ended with four catches, 33 yards receiving, and two touchdowns.
“That was probably one of my proudest moments: scoring two touchdowns in one game.”
As important as those individual moments have been, there’s something consistent throughout his time in Raleigh that Purvis will always remember: the incredible support of the Wolfpack faithful at home football games.
“Playing in front of the big crowds at Carter-Finley Stadium is something that I love. Coming out of the tunnel every game and seeing the 60,000 fans screaming for you is a pretty awesome feeling knowing that so many people have your back.”
