Purcell’s anonymity could be part of past

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A few months ago, 49ers backup nose tackle Mike Purcell was stopped by a fan while he was shopping at Costco.

“I was walking down the aisles,” Purcell said. “The guy didn’t want to stop and talk too long. He just said, ‘Hey, you’re Mike Purcell. Good luck next season.’ That was it.”

Indeed, that’s all, folks.

So why does Purcell recall such an innocuous exchange and what makes it worth sharing? It’s the only time Purcell has been recognized by a fan in public since he entered the NFL 27 months ago.

Purcell specializes in anonymity. He’s a former undrafted free agent from a low-profile college (Wyoming) who has spent far more time on the practice squad (30 weeks) than the playing field (28 snaps) in his one-tackle NFL career. As of Saturday morning, his Twitter account had 1,092 followers, meaning he’s not close to being the most popular Mike Purcell on the social media site (Mike Purcell in Miamisburg, Ohio, had 12,225 followers).

On Friday, however, Purcell acknowledged he might have blown his cover, thanks to his performance in last week’s preseason opener in Houston. Purcell had six tackles in his 23-snap outing — a huge figure for a nose tackle — and the Texans gained 5 yards on the six running plays in which he had a stop. (Fittingly, Purcell was mistaken for 49ers offensive lineman Justin Renfrow — they are both wearing No. 64 this summer — on the Texans’ broadcast).

Purcell, 24, had two of his tackles on a six-play goal-line sequence in which Houston couldn’t score despite running five plays from the 1-yard line. On 2nd-and-goal from the 1, Purcell blasted through the middle and dumped running back Alfred Blue for a 3-yard loss.

After stepping into the spotlight in Houston, Purcell stepped to the podium three days later in Santa Clara to answer questions from reporters.

For Purcell, it qualified as a media blitz. And he doesn’t want it to distract him from his next assignment: He’s focused on showing he’s a force, not a fluke, when the 49ers host the Cowboys on Sunday night.

Nose tackle Mike Purcell’s preseason performance could lead to more stops in Costco if it continues into the regular season for the 49ers. Nose tackle Mike Purcell’s preseason performance could lead to more stops in Costco if it continues into the regular season for the 49ers. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Purcell’s anonymity could be part of past 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

“Yeah, it’s blown up in the past few days,” Purcell said. “I just want to stay humble and keep working. My goal right now is to show I can do it back-to-back.”

By all accounts, going Hollywood won’t be an option for Purcell (6-foot-3, 303 pounds), who can be categorized as the strong-and-silent type.

Defensive line coach Scott Brown says Purcell “doesn’t say a word.” And defensive tackle Tony Jerod-Eddie laughed when asked about Purcell’s demonstrative finger-wagging celebration after a tackle in Houston. (“Oh, yeah,” he said. “That surprised me.”)

“Mike doesn’t say much,” Jerod-Eddie said. “He’s going to do what he’s supposed to do. He’s going to be where he’s supposed to be. And he’s going to kick a lot of butt.”

Brown recognized Purcell’s butt-kicking capabilities back in 2008.

Brown, then the defensive line coach at Colorado State, recruited Purcell when he was at Highlands Ranch (Co.) High. Purcell wanted to attend the in-state school and Brown wanted to offer him a scholarship, but Purcell said he wasn’t as coveted by head coach Steve Fairchild.

“He wanted to pull the trigger on me, but the head coach didn’t,” Purcell said. “So I ended up going to rival Wyoming and beat them four years in a row.”

Over four years later, Brown finally got Purcell, whom he coveted because of his flexibility, quickness and lower-body strength. Brown was a 49ers scout and influenced Purcell’s decision to sign with the team after the 2013 draft, even though it had just added Tank Carradine (second round) and Quinton Dial (fifth round) to a well-stocked defensive line.

The depth at the position made Purcell a practice-squad fixture until injuries prompted his promotion to the active roster for the final two regular-season games of the 2014 season.

Now, it appears Purcell could become the latest undrafted defensive lineman signed by the 49ers to carve out an NFL career. Head coach Jim Tomsula also mentored Jerod-Eddie, starting nose guard Ian Williams, Demarcus Dobbs and Will Tukuafu during his eight seasons as the defensive line coach.

Dobbs and Tukuafu are with the Seahawks and Purcell understands he’s not guaranteed to stick with the 49ers, who also employ Williams, Jerod-Eddie, Dial, Carradine, Darnell Dockett, Glenn Dorsey and first-round pick Arik Armstead.

Purcell has received advice from Tomsula that has allowed him to keep his focus on the field, not on his odds of surviving final roster cuts.

“When Jimmy T. was the defensive-line coach and even now in team meetings, he says ‘Your No. 1 goal is to get paid for playing football. And, No. 2, is to get paid for playing football here,’ ” Purcell said. “That’s really settled me down.”

If Purcell keeps reprising last week’s performance in Houston, he’ll have no problem being recognized by other NFL teams.

And, perhaps, more fans at Costco.

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ebranch@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Eric_Branch

Sunday’s game

Who: Cowboys at 49ersWhere: Levi’s Stadium

Time: 5 p.m.TV/Radio: Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46/ 810, 107.7

5 to watch

CB Keith Reaser: The 2014 fifth-round pick took four-year veteran Shareece Wright’s first-team snaps in practices this week. On Sunday, he could get a start and a prime chance to show youth should be served.

TE Vance McDonald: A second-round pick in 2013, McDonald has just 10 career catches. The trade of Derek Carrier to Washington on Friday made it clear the 49ers will employ him as the No. 2 TE for another season.

RB Jarryd Hayne: Couldn’t leave this guy out, right? Hayne appears to be a kick-returning savant, but he’s acknowledged he needs refining as a running back. The 49ers have issued about 20 credentials to the Australian media.

WR Quinton Patton: In April, GM Trent Baalke said the 2013 fourth-round pick would finally have an opportunity to play significant snaps this season. Patton has a clear path to playing time after presumptive No. 3 WR Jerome Simpson was handed a six-game suspension this week.

ILB NaVorro Bowman: It’s quite possible fans will only be able to watch Bowman on the sideline. Jim Tomsula said Bowman could play Sunday for the first time since his knee injury 19 months ago, but does the head coach really want him to debut on the just-installed grass at Levi’s Stadium?

— Eric Branch

Sod saga

Here’s the latest on the Levi’s Stadium grass: The 49ers used a different company to supply the sod for their preseason game against the Cowboys on Sunday.

The 49ers are using grass from Evergreen Turf in Chandler, Ariz., instead of West Coast Turf in Stevinson (Merced County). A team spokesman said the 49ers’ 20-plus-year relationship with West Coast continues, but they also have other partners to ensure they have the best options for resoddings of the field.

The 49ers could be using Evergreen for its next two resoddings, which have quick turnaround times, before returning to West Coast to provide the sod in advance of their regular-season opener against the Vikings on Sept. 14.

The 49ers will play Sunday eight days after a Taylor Swift concert at Levi’s. That field was subsequently removed and replaced last week with Evergreen sod. The stadium will host a Luke Bryan concert Saturday and a resodding will occur before the 49ers’ final home preseason game against the Chargers on Sept. 3.

The 49ers have periodically dealt with sod-instability issues at the $1.2 billion stadium since it opened last year. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and coach Jason Garrett have expressed concern about the condition of the field in advance of Sunday’s game.