Transfer Carta-Samuels gets chance to be in the spotlight

K.J. Carta-Samuels’ life has never been the same since a growth spurt.

He was a sophomore at Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, Calif., when he shot up 5 inches, 30 pounds and into the ideal frame of a college quarterback. Carta-Samuels didn’t start on the varsity until his junior season as a raw talent in a run-first offense. He passed only a handful of times per game. Still, scholarship offers rolled in from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC.

“I realized this dream and hope for the future that I could possibly play college football,” he said.

Now more than six years after that spurt, Carta-Samuels will finally get his shot to lead a college program.

Colorado State coach Mike Bobo confirmed last week that Carta-Samuels, a three-year backup at Washington, will enroll at CSU this fall as a graduate transfer with immediate eligibility. He is a front-runner to start after Collin Hill retore an ACL.

Carta-Samuels appeared in 25 games as a reserve with the Huskies and completed 27-of-47 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns.

Many quarterbacks would sulk if they didn’t start. But the truth was clear by his sophomore season: Jake Browning was the Huskies’ starter. CartaSamuels could transfer and sit out one season or grind for two years and test the graduate transfer market. He chose to stick it out. “I improved immensely in my time up at Washington practicing and not transferring and trying to play right away,” Carta-Samuels said. “You can make strides even not being the starter. I think I really accepted that role and tried to improve my game so much. Then I just focused on areas not in football trying to mature. That actually helped my game on the field.”

The Rams hope for a short learning curve when CartaSamuels joins the program this summer. His decision to reverse a previous commitment to UCLA relied heavily on Hill’s injury in Fort Collins, but Carta-Samuels’ initial interest in the Rams stemmed from the success of Bobo’s offensive schemes at Georgia and CSU.

“They run the pro-style, which is awesome, because it’s definitely what the next level looks for,” Carta-Samuels said. “They definitely want to push the ball down the field, and you see they have great production offensively, especially at the quarterback position.”

K.J.’s older brother, Austyn, quarterbacked Wyoming for two seasons (2009-10) before transferring to Vanderbilt. His sister, Gabby, is currently a volleyball player at Colorado. That should make for interesting dinner talk at family get-togethers. K.J. joked that “it depends on who gets in the win column.”

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“This was the best decision for me for a whole bunch of reasons,” CartaSamuels said. “I could go on forever.”