If you follow football, by now, you must know the name Jimmy Garoppolo -- the star quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers.
On and off the field, who is this guy?
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We did some digging and we’ll fill you in.
He and Tony Romo have something unique in common: They played ball at the same small school.
Of course, Garoppolo and Romo didn’t attend Eastern Illinois University at the same time. In fact, when Garoppolo was a senior in 2013, he broke some of Romo’s school records for career pass completions, according to NFL.com. Garoppolo, now 28, is a native of Illinois.
He backed up Tom Brady on the New England Patriots.
Before he arrived in San Francisco, Garoppolo was with New England, the team that drafted him -- he went 62nd overall in 2014, which was the second round. Garoppolo served as Brady’s backup in two Super Bowls, but didn’t see much action during the time he spent with the team. His trade came in October 2017, according to NBC Sports.
Yes, he was the one who called Erin Andrews ‘baby.’
It was late October of last year when Garoppolo called the well-known FOX sideline reporter “baby” on national TV. Some people thought he was trying to flirt, while others found it to be disrespectful. It was just a quick moment after a game against the Arizona Cardinals, but it definitely caught Andrews off guard if you watch the video.
Some of his food preferences might be considered controversial.
When asked about fast-food, Garoppolo said he actually preferred McDonald’s to In-N-Out -- which might be surprising to some, considering he currently lives in California, the home of cult-favorite In-N-Out. So, what does Jimmy order? Chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce and the fries, of course, which he called “phenomenal.” Editor’s (very biased) note: If it’s the fries you’re after, we think Garoppolo had the right idea. Oh, and in unrelated news, he likes smooth peanut butter over crunchy and his favorite brand is JIF. Here’s the video, if you’d rather have Garoppolo explain for himself.
He’s picked up some fun nicknames over the years.
Jimmy G and Jimmy GQ are pretty common, with the latter referring to his bachelor status and -- if we had to guess -- his dashing good looks. We had to LOL at this find from ABC 7 in San Francisco.
The site found a 2014 article in the Boston Herald saying "someone changed (Garoppolo’s) locker nameplate to read "PRINCE ALADDIN," which is apparently an inside joke with his teammates.”
He does look a bit like Aladdin, doesn’t he?
OK, that’s all we have! We’ll see if he wins the Super Bowl for his team on Sunday. Who are you rooting for?