New QB humble, yet confident

FORT COLLINS» Yes, it was going to feel a bit like a rush job.

No, there wasn’t a whole lot of time for any of the things K.J. Carta-Samuels needed to do, but he was determined to see each and every item checked off.

The graduate transfer from Washington was presented one final opportunity to be a starting quarterback in college. When Collin Hill retore his left ACL before the start of Colorado State’s spring camp, it became an immediate need for the Rams.

Nowhere else on the roster was there game experience at quarterback. CartaSamuels had some, and from the jump, he was anointed the starting spot by the fan base as soon as he set foot on the Fort Collins campus.

Never mind them. He knew he had to be a good teammate first. No way could he arrive on campus acting like a savior. He had to earn their trust, make friends.

He did that by working hard. He was in the film room, he studied the playbook at all times and he set out from the start to build chemistry with those to whom he would be throwing the ball.

It’s all added up to trust as Colorado State hands him the keys to the offense for Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. season opener at Canvas Stadium with Hawaii.

“The first thing, he texted my phone and said, ‘Can we get some work?’ ” wide receiver Warren Jackson said. “He came in with that hunger for the game, and we got right to it, so I’m very confident.”

So is Carta-Samuels. It’s his first start for Colorado State, but it’s not his first time playing.

In four years with the Huskies, he appeared in 25 games. It accounted for just 47 pass attempts, hitting on 27 for 310 yards and three scores. He has seen big moments before, such as leading a late scoring drive in 2016 to beat then-No. 7 Stanford.

This, he notes, is a big moment, too.

“It feels like it’s time. I’m excited and I’m ready to get out there with this team and just get a win, definitely start off with a win this first game,” he said. “Do some good things and then feed off it as we go throughout the season. I’m so excited about this first game. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m just excited to get out there.”

He started fall camp as the quarterback running the first offense, and that stature only solidified with each passing session.