Redshirt sophomore Marquis Hamilton had more receiving yards last Saturday than he had totaled in his whole ISU career.

Hamilton’s nine catches for 97 yards may have been a hollow accomplishment in a 24-13 loss to Northern Iowa, but a sign nevertheless of a developing weapon for the Cyclone offense. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound wide receiver from Oklahoma City, said he didn’t expect to get as many touches as he did, but was prepared for the occasion.

“When my number is called, I got to be ready to play,” Hamilton said. “I feel like I was, for the most part.”

Hamilton had six catches for 68 yards last season, with the bulk of the production coming in a three-catch, 50-yard game versus Kansas State.

The 20-year-old has a lot of upside, according to senior wideout Todd Blythe.

“We call him ‘Big Body,'” Blythe said. “He came in big, so that helped that he didn’t have to take the time to try and get in the weight room to get big enough at this level.”

On a third-and-seven in UNI territory the game’s opening drive, Hamilton jumped and caught a 16-yard bullet from quarterback Bret Meyer in the middle of the field. He was leveled on the play, but held onto the ball and got up quickly.

“He’s pretty inexperienced, and he’s going out there and making plays for us,” Blythe said.

“Like I said, he’s a big guy and he’s willing to go across the middle and make the tough play, and he has really good hands and runs really precise routes which is always great as a wide receiver because it means that you are going to give the quarterback a good picture to look at every time.”