STANFORD — The word posterized is usually reserved for dunks. But Stanford backup quarterback Keller Chryst earned such a distinction in Saturday’s 55-17 rout of Arizona at Stanford Stadium.

The play came late in the first half. Taking the place of Kevin Hogan for one snap, Chryst pitched the ball to running back Christian McCaffrey, then sprinted around the right edge as a lead blocker. Chryst, a redshirt freshman out of Palo Alto High listed at 6 feet 5 and 233 pounds, set his sights on Arizona cornerback Cam Denson. He then delivered a pancake block that sprung McCaffrey for a 25-yard gain.

“We all thought that was the funniest thing ever, slash felt really bad for that guy because he should never play football,” said Stanford linebacker Blake Martinez, who was standing next to inside linebackers coach Peter Hansen. “The funny part of that story is I was on the sideline when it happened with Coach Hansen and I told him, ‘If that ever happened to me, I’m walking out of the stadium and never coming back.’ And he was like, ‘Good, because I do not want to see your face again.’ “

“Oh yeah, it was technically sound,” added left guard Joshua Garnett. “I remember talking to him before the game, he’s like, “I just don’t want to miss, I don’t want to get juked.’ I said, ‘Man, I’ve done it a lot. You gotta just run through him. Don’t be afraid, just go right through him and don’t hesitate.’ And that’s what he did and he pancaked that guy. That was really funny to see on the field.”

The designed run was a last-minute addition to the playbook by offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren.

“It’s hard to get live reps on a play like that, so we practiced it one or two times the closer days leading up to it,” Chryst said. “We put it in fairly late in the week, but I was excited when Coach Bloom put it in. Saw my number on the install and I was going to kick out of the corner, so I was pretty juiced.”

That doesn’t mean teammates expected Chryst to posterize an opponent.

“Obviously I didn’t see Keller do too many pancakes at practice,” Garnett said. “But, I mean, he must have been doing something either in the dorm room or something, working on his punch or getting low and driving through people because it was definitely a surprise to me.”

“It was one of the coolest things that I have ever seen,” McCaffrey said. “I was running and I knew he was the lead blocker on that play, it was a designed play. And I saw him decleat the guy and just froze. I was so excited immediately when it happened, I almost just stuttered. That just goes show you the toughness of everyone on our team, even our quarterbacks.”

Martinez had never seen the play at practice, so he was surprised to even see Chryst on the field. But Stanford coach David Shaw was confident it would work because of Chryst’s demeanor with a helmet and pads.

“We knew he was a physical kid, he was a tough kid, and when we put the play in he was excited,” Shaw said. “He wanted to do it. We were able to run the ball in two of the designed runs, and we told him flat out it was going to be you and the free safety. And both times, no fair dodging, he ran right at the free safety and tried to lower his shoulder. That’s just how he plays the game. That’s how he played in high school. He’s not going to shy away from contact.”

It’s what made Chryst the perfect candidate. He didn’t even flip a switch to become more aggressive.

“It’s just a mindset I have anytime I go out there on the field,” Chryst said. “It’s just playing football and just doing what I’ve done ever since I was a kid playing Pop Warner football. So I got out there and just trusted my instincts and a good thing happened for me there.”

It helped that Chryst outweighed his target by 65 pounds, to go along with a 6-inch edge in stature.

“Being a big, strong guy like Keller, yeah he’s a quarterback, but I wouldn’t want him running at me either,” McCaffrey said.

Needless to say, the sideline went bonkers after the play.

“First of all, I was amazed how Christian even saw me do it considering he was running the ball,” said Chryst, who engaged another defender downfield after the pancake block. “I guess it says something about his field vision. But I mean, everyone was juiced. All of the o-linemen came and saw me right after the play. Then I got to the bench and the whole team seemed pretty juiced.”

Shaw added: “When a quarterback does that, he gets a lot more respect in the room. So the big guys like to see that. Christian was really fired up, hit him in the head a couple of times, which is not advisable, but they were all really excited. He’s a tough kid, he’s a great athlete and I’m proud of him for how well he played in the game.”

Does that mean Chryst has earned a spot as an honorary offensive lineman?

“He definitely can come hang out with us,” Garnett said.

Chryst was more modest about it.

“No, that is nothing compared to what those guys do in the trenches each and every day,” he said.

Meanwhile, Martinez had another suggestion: “He should play fullback now.”

Either way, it should be no surprise to soon find posters of Chryst hanging in dorm rooms.

Email Vytas Mazeika at vmazeika@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at Twitter.com/dailynewsvytas.