K.J. Carta-Samuels loves to hike and fish and extols the virtues of his new state of residence, Colorado, as an outdoor wonderland.

Someday he hopes to do more than admire what it has to offer — just not right now. “I can do all these other things when the season is over,” he said.

For three intensely driven months, Carta-Samuels has been running his own version of a hurry-up offense, preparing for the final act of his college career, taking over as Colorado State’s starting quarterback, beginning with Saturday’s season opener against Hawaii.

“I’ve got to get up to speed,” he says, fresh from practice and on the way to watch more film.

“It definitely feels like you are pressed for time (because) time is not on your side,” Carta-Samuels said. “It makes you value time, for sure. When you have free time you are spending it in the film room watching tape or studying the playbook to be able to put yourself in the best position.”

A graduate transfer from the University of Washington, Carta-Samuels has one season of eligibility in which to cram a career’s worth of hopes and expectations. Twelve regular-season games in which to demonstrate his ability and make some lasting memories.

Though there has been no official announcement of his status as the starter against the Rainbow Warriors, it is a foregone conclusion.

A four-star recruit out of Bellarmine Prep in Saratoga, Calif., Carta-Samuels spent three seasons as a backup quarterback for the Huskies, effectively becoming an insurance policy in case anything happened to Jake Browning.

In that span he received one start against Stanford, made a cameo appearance in a College Football Playoff game against Alabama and did some mop-up work. Altogether he appeared in 25 games, totaling 27 completions in 47 career pass attempts for 310 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

In his first game on the UW roster, the 2014 season opener at Aloha Stadium, he watched UH and UW from the sidelines.

When he decided to chase greater opportunities after earning a degree from UW this past winter, Carta-Samuels sat down with Huskies head coach Chris Petersen to explore possible options. Petersen recommended CSU atop a list of five schools.

The Rams had lost Nick Stevens, a free-agent signee with the Denver Broncos, but when Carta-Samuels talked to CSU coach Mike Bobo, “Coach Bobo was very honest with me. He told me he already had a guy,” said Carta-Samuels, who then turned his attention to UCLA and announced plans to become a Bruin.

But before Carta-Samuels could enroll at UCLA, the Rams’ projected starter, Collin Hill, went down in a pickup basketball game, suffering an ACL tear in his left knee for the second time in 17 months.

That prompted Bobo to hurriedly get back in contact with Carta-Samuels, who said the opportunity at CSU and the fact that his sister, Gabby, was playing volleyball at the University of Colorado sealed the deal.

Carta-Samuels got to Fort Collins, Colo., in time to watch the Rams’ spring practice from the sidelines but couldn’t be more than an observer until he enrolled in a CSU graduate school in June.

Since then, Carta-Samuels said he has been making up for lost time. “Every day I grind and work like I have no time (to waste), because I really don’t.”

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.