Brycen Hopkins' production this season is showing he may be the second member of his family to join the National Football League.

Hopkins, a 6-foot-5 and 245-pound tight end, enters the ninth game of the 2018 season as Purdue's second-leading receiver with 26 receptions. His big-play ability has been showcased every time he touches the football, as his 18.04-yards-per-catch average is second among the Boilermaker receivers while also leading all tight ends in the Big Ten. Of Purdue's 35 pass plays of 20 yards or more, Hopkins has been involved in nine.

"I just think I'm more experienced now and I don't think as much on the field so it's more about see it and do it at this point," Hopkins said. "With that, I think comes better decision-making when I'm in the moment. I'm a better route-runner and better catcher but all that comes with putting in the reps."

Hopkins' father, Brad, famously played 13 seasons in the NFL as an offensive tackle with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise and would start 188 career games. Purdue coaches are seeing tendencies and a work ethic that may see Hopkins' first-born son get looks in professional football one day. Purdue wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard said Tuesday he sees in Hopkins athletic traits he's looking for when he recruits to his receivers room but also an improved blocker in a 245-pound frame.

"I think he's a special talent," Shephard said. "His route-running has definitely accelerated since we got here as a staff. He's pretty even-keeled and showing a lot of toughness out there. I think he'll be an NFL-caliber kid and I look forward to watching him on Sundays."

If there was ever any doubt about whether the violence of football was for him, the hit Hopkins took last weekend would've gone a long way to create it.

Instead, the tight end is more worried about his younger sister using his "quick blackout" moment as part of a joke on her Instagram. Hopkins sister, Gentry, who is a freshman at the University of Tennessee and a member of the Volunteers dance team, couldn't resist using her older brother for a social media prop.

"About a thousand times on ESPN, Big Ten Network, Snapchat stories (and) my sister's Instagram story," Hopkins said Tuesday when asked if he's watched it on film since the game. "She put the caption 'Monday' over the dude that hit me and so (the joke) was Monday comes and, yeah, she did that for real. It's cool. We're laughing about it now. Gotta love your siblings."

Hopkins says he doesn't remember getting hit but remembers catching the pass from David Blough and then blacking out from the time he was hit to the few seconds where he woke up on his back on the Spartan Stadium turf.

"I've forgotten about it, which is easy to do when you don't remember it in the first place," Hopkins said about the play he described as "humiliating" to reporters Tuesday. "I didn't get a chance to defend myself. I'm just out cold and the next thing I hear is 'Interception' and I didn't know what they were talking about."

Hopkins' response to whether the hit by Michigan State linebacker Tyriq Thompson qualified as targeting, the Purdue tight end was short and straightforward.

"Yeah, I would say so," Hopkins said. "As far as I understand, he lowered his head and hit me right in the bottom of my face mask, so my head turned."

Hopkins' assessment echoed his head coach's comments a day earlier suggesting thought targeting should've been called or at least the play should've been reviewed for the targeting foul.

"You're probably asking the wrong guy but after looking at the television copy, I thought it was targeting," Brohm said Monday. "I couldn't tell (in real time) where the shot got him but the TV copy showed it got him in the chin right with his helmet, led with his helmet and really, with targeting, is what you're supposed to not do."

Hopkins said he's been physically cleared to play Saturday against Iowa for the 3:30 p.m. contest at Ross-Ade Stadium and was actually on the field a couple of possessions after the hit.

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