BOISE, Idaho  As soon as Kellen Moore could walk, he attended his father’s high school football practices. Once he could run, he spotted the ball during practice. And at the age of 5, he started throwing with the quarterbacks.

Moore spent his Christmas money on college playbooks and the coach’s tape of college games off the Internet. Even today, Moore, the starting quarterback for undefeated Boise State, records several games each Saturday and takes notes for discussions with the Broncos’ offensive coordinator, Bryan Harsin.

And while many of his teammates are out enjoying college life, Moore can often be found at home drawing up plays. He has stacks of notebooks full of plays, his father, Tom, said.

“He’s a football nerd,” Boise State’s defensive coordinator, Justin Wilcox, said.

It is his football savvy and unflappable demeanor that have helped Moore overcome his physical limitations and develop into a Heisman Trophy contender for No. 5 Boise State (8-0, 3-0 Western Athletic Conference), which again this season is a threat to crash the Bowl Championship Series.