BYU gives Hauss Hejny, Colorado State chance at coming out party

"That run down the sideline was a heck of a run," Mora said on Saturday night. "Pryce (Tracy, CSU offensive coordinator) had said, 'Hey, hand it off. Don't do anything silly.' And he took off running. We're all like, 'Slide! Slide! Slide!' and then it was like, 'Nah, just go, go go.'

"I like his attitude of attack, attack, attack. He's conscientiously aggressive."

While Mora may see aggressiveness in his quarterback, Hejny's teammates see a different personality trait that could come in handy against a BYU defense that didn't allow Arizona to score in the second half and allowed just 87 total yards after intermission in a 28-17 win on Saturday.

"It's just elite poise," CSU running back Mel Brown said of Hejny after Saturday's win. "Even the first week, I was telling him, 'You're really calm.' He's chilling in the pocket. He's not stressed out.

"I've been at three different schools now at this point and I've been with a lot of different QBs. Hauss just sits back there like he's a vet who's been doing this for years and he hasn't. It's just been amazing to see."

BYU coming to Fort Collins represents the biggest test of the young season for Colorado State. It will also represent the biggest defensive challenge that Hejny has seen during his time in green and gold, with BYU moving up four spots in the latest Associated Press ranking to 11th in the country.

On Sunday night, FanDuel listed BYU as an 18.5-point favorite in the road matchup. That means for Colorado State to have a chance at the upset, Hejny is going to have to play at a high level.

That may be a lot to ask of a quarterback making just his third start at CSU. But through two games, Hejny has shown little reason to believe the moment will be too big for him.

Saturday will reveal plenty about the Rams as they face their first true measuring-stick game of the Mora era. It could also be a night when a quarterback who isn't a household name yet begins making sure more people know exactly who Hauss Hejny is.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.