Peterson: Hunter Dekkers gets his first Iowa State start this week. He's more than ready.

AMES — Let’s jump right to the question:

What’s the difference between what Brock Purdy did before his 2018 Iowa State coming-out party in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Hunter Dekkers’ prelude to his first career start on Saturday?

Which player was better prepared to run an offense against a schedule that annually includes 10 Power Five opponents — nine from the conference and Iowa?

“When you look at Hunter’s progress, he's had an entire six months of knowing that he's the starting quarterback,” Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday. “He's been prepping to take over the offense we’re building around him. With Brock, he took over an offense that we were already running, and after that, you're kind of trying to evolve as the season goes on.

“I think they were very different in that respect, but the similarities of leadership and buying into values were the intangibles of a winning spirit they shared.”

Whether it’s a fair comparison or not, it shows that Dekkers has had more prep work to become a starter, which he’ll realize at 1 p.m. Saturday against Southeast Missouri at Jack Trice Stadium.

“To be honest, (the six-month prep work) brings a level of comfort within myself and the coaches,” Dekkers said. “They know a little what I can do on the field, but also knowing what I’ve already done on the field — for myself — is something I can carry over to playing more snaps.”

Let’s rewind to the Cyclones’ 2018 game at Oklahoma State — the one during which a rookie named Purdy replaced Zeb Noland after just a handful or fewer of unspectacular possessions. Campbell went to the bench, despite the kid from Arizona having just one game on his college resume, a game in which he didn’t pass, and rushed once (for a loss) in a 26-13 win against Akron.

“I’m not going to play you unless you earn the right to play, and Brock consistently had shown the right to play,” Campbell said. “That’s why I thought it was time to give him that opportunity. We were going to give him a chance to play a little bit. That’s kind of what we did, and obviously he took advantage of it.”

The rest is history. Purdy started the next 46 games, broke most of Iowa State’s quarterback records, and then became a seventh-round San Francisco 49ers draft pick.

More: Xavier Hutchinson says Hunter Dekkers is capable of big things

So, for the first time since Purdy against West Virginia in 2018, the Cyclones will have a new starting quarterback. He’ll be the first Iowan to start a season as Iowa State’s QB1 since Ankeny's Joel Lanning in 2016. He says he’s ready, and there’s no reason to doubt him. He’s known this would be his offense for a long time.

In seven career games, the lefty completed 25 of 43 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. During those games, he rushed seven times for 73 yards and two touchdowns. He learned behind the master.

“He’s a guy that sat two years behind a guy like Brock,” said Xavier Hutchinson, possibly the Big 12’s top returning receiver. “You see the pitfalls of what the starting quarterback can go through. He’s more mature because of it than ever before. His got mental strength, and a belief in himself.”

That’s something the former West Sioux of Hawarden star has always had. He knew he could play at the Iowa State level; he just needed an outlet to prove it.

“We’d seen Hunter in high school, and during the spring revaluation period, and we're like, “Man, this guy's really good,'” Campbell recalled. “He started to pick up some interest towards the late part of his junior year.”

Still without a big-time offer, Dekkers attended Iowa State’s prospect camp during the 2019 summer. He had something to prove, not only to the Cyclones staff, but to himself.

“It was more of a personal thing,” Dekkers said. “I wanted to show (Iowa State’s staff) what they were missing out on, basically. I didn’t have an offer yet. I came in with more of a personal mindset than anything.”

Having no offer didn’t last long. Campbell invited Hunter and his father into his office after the camp. He liked what he saw. He had to have that Dekkers kid from the small northwest Iowa high school.

More: Matt Campbell's words, actions continue to exude confidence in the process — for 2022 and beyond

“He was flawless that night,” Campbell remembered. “I pulled him and his father in afterwards and just said, “I know we already have a quarterback that's committed in this class, but you deserve to have a scholarship from Iowa State.

"I asked (Hunter) to give me a night to call the other quarterback and let him know that we were going to offer two quarterbacks in this class. I felt like that was the right thing to do.”

The other quarterback in that 2020 recruiting class, Aiden Bouman, ended up transferring. Dekkers beat him out. Now, he’s No. 1, after learning from Purdy the past four seasons — a learning that included watching, and re-watching Purdy’s 2018 christening at Oklahoma State.

“I’ve watched the 2018 game many times,” Dekkers said. “I remember watching it live, and then it was kind of cool watching it in the film room with Brock.

“It’s crazy to think about.”

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson embarked on his 50th year of writing sports for the Des Moines Register in December 2021. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, 515-284-8132, and on Twitter at @RandyPete.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hunter Dekkers is more than ready for first Iowa State football start