It’s always nice to have options.

For the ISU football team’s passing attack, Jarvis West has been a prime choice as one of those options, having stepped up in the past two games to account for 11 receptions for 120 yards and three receiving touchdowns.

The key to West’s success is his speed.

“Jarvis is as quick of a person as I’ve ever seen in my life,” said running back Jeff Woody. “He can go from a full sprint to a dead stop to a full sprint in two steps and it’s unreal.”

The improved play of West has come in the midst of a slump for the Cyclones’ leading receiver, Aaron Horne, who had six dropped passes against Baylor and only had one catch for four yards against Oklahoma.

West, a crafty 170-pound redshirt sophomore, had seen his dreadlocks nearly catch fire having scored four touchdowns — three receiving scores against Baylor and one rushing against Oklahoma.

“Against Baylor, [Horne] was having the worst game of his life and [West] was able to step in because of that and he made the most of it,” Woody said.

On Sunday, ISU coach Paul Rhoads said the main trait his staff is beginning to look at in recruiting wide receivers is bigger size. At 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, however, West was a glaring exception to this standard when he was recruited.

“Jarvis was just too stop-and-go quick to pass up that we couldn’t walk away from him,” Rhoads said. “His size didn’t matter to us because he was so quick, and right now he’s getting hot and productive, as you’re seeing.”

The past few weeks have been a boost in confidence for West, who had been averaging 1.7 receptions and 12.7 receiving yards per game before his three-touchdown performance against Baylor on Oct. 27.

“They’ve been great, I guess you could say,” West said. “It’s been good for me, but it’s really not about me — it’s about the team.”

Also in West’s playbook as an offensive threat is his ability to run the ball — he’s had five carries this season on reverses with his fifth carry resulting in his first-career rushing touchdown last Saturday against Oklahoma.

Woody said West’s speediness typically throws defenders off guard, allowing him to gain positive yardage when a reverse play unfolds.

“It’s extremely, extremely, extremely difficult,” said linebacker Jeremiah George of trying to tackle West. “He’s made me look really bad in a couple practices over the last couple years. The best way to try to tackle Jarvis is to try to relax when you see him coming and try to take something away from him; that’s about it.”