The Untold Truth Of Jimmy Garoppolo

The story of Jimmy Garoppolo turning down his first chance at playing quarterback speaks volumes for the future NFL star's humble nature. A profile on Garoppolo done by Bleacher Report tells the tale of a teenage Jimmy G starting off as tight end and linebacker in the sixth grade, while his best friend, Dan Lowry (whom he grew up with), was a QB. Garoppolo's head coach, Bob Viti, one day began grilling the future 49ers athlete about a position change — thanks to his impeccable throwing abilities. Oddly enough, Garoppolo would only refuse. "He never told me why," Viti recalled. As it turned out, Garoppolo's reasoning was simple: he "did not want to take away his best friend's job." As he explained to the mag, "I didn't know about quarterbacking." 

So, how did Jimmy G end up with such a monster of a throwing arm? Tony Taibi, Garoppolo's high school wide receiver, shed some insight to The Athletic, revealing that his teammate was an "unbelievable" baseball player, too. "He always had a gunslinger mentality. Throwing came natural to him."

Finally, by Garoppolo's junior year in 2008, former NFL QB Jeff Christensen saw Jimmy G's potential and began training him as quarterback and point guard. As Bleacher Report noted, "By his senior year, Jimmy felt comfortable under center, finishing high school with 3,136 passing yards and 25 touchdowns in 19 games at quarterback."

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