Not often do football players and coaches cringe at the sight of contact.

But when Iowa State freshman quarterback Brock Purdy is on the field, anything can happen. He’s made a reputation for keeping plays alive all sorts of ways, scrambling all over the backfield to avoid pressure.

Perhaps his most lethal measure to extend plays is his pump fake.

Brock Purdy is gonna be a stud for Iowa State. Watch this pump fake. pic.twitter.com/bLdOSoOUyT

— Max Olson (@max_olson) October 10, 2018

Purdy’s pump fakes — and his overall ability to extend plays — have helped his team win games so far. The Cyclones are 4-0 when Purdy plays and 2-0 in his starts.

The only problem, according to coaches and teammates, is the danger of taking a big hit.

“When he gets hit out there is what gets me scared,” said redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Kempt. “The pump fakes though, that’s part of his game.”

The pump fakes have been effective, however. Defenses have struggled to stop Purdy on the ground, largely because of his arm and ability to make plays from outside the pocket.

His pump fake was the focus of West Virginia’s film session before the Mountaineers played the Cyclones earlier in October.

Reese Donahue, a defensive lineman for West Virginia, told WVmetronews about Purdy’s ability to escape with the pump fake.

“I can picture it now,” Donahue said. “Sticking the laser pointer on a cut-up of [Purdy]. Over and over and over again, of him doing the pump-fake. And [defensive coordinator Tony Gibson] said, word for word, ‘Fellas, do not fall for this pump-fake. Run through his face every time, and you’ll be fine.’

“Honestly, we fell for it. Coach Gibby warned us.”

Purdy has thrown for 822 yards, nine touchdowns and only two interceptions this season. On the ground, his shiftiness and pump fakes have resulted in 169 yards on 45 carries, including one touchdown.

His receivers have been able to find gaps during his scrambles, but they have also expressed concern over his aggressive style of scrambling.

“It scares me, just because, I always tell him ‘bro, this ain’t high school no more, there’s grown men out there,'” said leading wide receiver Hakeem Butler. “High school, the [defensive tackle] might have been like 230, 240. Now the dudes are like 340, so you gotta be careful.”

One of Purdy’s newfound favorite targets is redshirt freshman tight end Charlie Kolar.

Kolar has only four catches on the season, but three have gone for touchdowns.

“Brock has that extra dimension of extending the play so it’s important for us to come back to the ball or go deep,” Kolar said. “It’s funny because sometimes you’ll play one rep and you feel like you just played seven because you ran around so much.”

Purdy faces a challenge against Kansas on Saturday. The Jayhawks are just 3-5 this season, but the defense has forced 23 turnovers. Nine of those turnovers have come in the last three games, all against Big 12 opponents and two on the road.

The Jayhawks will have to stay disciplined against the ever-elusive Purdy.

“It’s just all about kinda ‘is this the right place and time for it’ for Brock,” Kempt said. “I think he’s done a good job understanding that through each game. For him, you gotta know when the play breaks down or when nothing else is open, not just doing it out of sync of the offense.

“He’s doing a great job though, taking coaching. He’s a young kid, he’s a freshman, he just played his third game. I think he’s doing a phenomenal job.”