He’s listed as a wide receiver, but sophomore Marquis Hamilton does more than catch passes.

This season Hamilton has found himself running, catching, tackling and even attempting to throw a pass throughout the Cyclones’ season this year.

“It’s been fun getting my hands on the ball more times a game,” Hamilton said. “It’s definitely exciting. I try to take advantage of it every week.”

So far, he has. In Iowa State’s eight games, the sophomore has caught 30 passes for 333 yards. It’s a long way from his freshman year when Hamilton hauled in six for 68 yards. The more attention he’s gotten in the offense, the more the defense has taken pressure off Blythe.

“I am pretty much complementing Todd Blythe, and if you key in on him, other players like myself, R.J. Sumrall, or Milan Moses, whoever it is, are going to go out there and make plays,” Hamilton said.

The plays haven’t just been limited to catching passes. Hamilton, the 6-foot-3-inch, 220-pound Oklahoma native, has been used at running back as well. Against the No. 4 Sooners, Hamilton rushed for 8 yards on four carries and broke off a 13-yard gain for a first down in the second quarter. Hamilton even got a chance to throw the ball when he took a handoff from quarterback Bret Meyer, but when he looked down the left side of the field and saw his receiver covered by Sooner defenders, he switched back to running back and ran with it.

“I thought he did a great job running with the football,” said offensive coordinator Robert McFarland. “I thought he read the holes right and did an excellent job running and getting positive yards, I thought, as a quarterback, and I thought he sat there and made the right decision and not throwing a ball that could have been an interception.”

What has worked out well for him, however, is the multiple roles he’s played so far this season. In special teams, Hamilton works on kickoffs, punt returns and kickoff returns. Against the Sooners he almost came up with the first blocked punt of the season.

“He’s just one of those guys on this team that’s willing to do whatever we ask of him,” Blythe said.

As for what that means down the road, even ISU coach Gene Chizik doesn’t know.

“He does a lot of things for us,” Chizik said. “All around, he’s just improved and developed his game, and from week to week if we see something there that would be wise for us to do with him over and the above the norm, then we would do it.”

When the Cyclones travel to No. 13 Missouri on Saturday, some more of Hamilton’s versatility might be shown. The Tiger’s defense, in holding opponents to 22.4 points per game, held the best offensive scoring team in the nation, Texas Tech, to a season-low 10 points last week.

“I feel if we bring out our best game, it doesn’t matter who we play,” Hamilton said. “We’ll go out and execute and play well.”

As for the rest of the season and his remaining two years, Hamilton said he’s got big plans.

“I still feel like I have that breakout [year] just waiting to happen,” he said. “It’s still in me and it’s just not come out yet.”