New Colorado State QB enjoys what Fort Collins has to offer

C.J. Robles doesn't know if he'll get the chance to compete for the starting job at quarterback as a true freshman this fall.

Sophomore Nick Stevens and redshirt freshman Coleman Key were vying for the job during spring drills, but Robles said he's up to the challenge if the opportunity presents itself.

"I'm just going to show up every day, work to the best of my ability, and the rest will take care of itself," he said last month after arriving in Fort Collins for the start of summer-school classes and offseason conditioning work. "If the coaches believe I've practiced well enough and competed well enough to win the starting job, so be it. If not, I'm still young. I've got a couple years to mature, and a year or two in a college weight program will do me some good."

Robles set school records for career passing yards (4,268), completions (252) and touchdowns (59) at El Diamante High School in Visalia, California, guiding his team to a 12-1 record and Central Section title his junior year.In addition, he set single-season records for passing yards (2,416), completions (163), passing touchdowns (22) and rushing touchdowns (12) as a senior.

Here are some other highlights from our conversation with Robles:

Question: What are you looking forward to most about living in Fort Collins?

Answer: I'm looking forward to finally being in college, being able to go to school for my career path instead of having to do the everyday kind of stuff you do in high school. I'm looking forward to football and taking that as far as I can.

Q: What do you like to do when you're not busy with football or school?

A: There's not much to do in Visalia. When I'm not busy playing football, I'm either playing or watching other sports or working on my car. Now that I'm in Fort Collins, I hope to get into some other things like hunting, fishing, skiing if the coaches will allow that. Kind of the outdoor stuff that they don't have in Visalia.

Q:You've made the trip from Visalia to Fort Collins by car twice in the past three months. What was the best thing you saw along the way?

A: The Rockies, actually. In Nevada, Utah and Arizona, it's pretty plain the whole drive and as soon as you get past Grand Junction and get into the Rockies, there's a lot more to see. When I came in the spring, the snow was pretty awesome to see, and today (June 13), everything was so green and the Colorado River was running full.

Q: What type of music do you like to listen to?

A: I listen to kind of a combination. If you go on my play list, it's kind of funny. One time, it'll be hip-hop, the next time country, the next time Christian. That's something my friends kind of make fun of me about, because I don't have a set kind of music. I'm all over the place.

Q: What do you plan to major in at CSU and why?

A: I'll be a health and exercise science major. I'm hoping to go somewhere into the medical field, sports medicine or sports promotion. If I go sports promotion, it'll be to be an athletic trainer. If I go into sports medicine, it'll be to be an orthopedic surgeon or something like that. I hope right after my college career to hopefully coach. Right after or in the near future, because that's one of my passions.

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news

J.C. Robles file

• Height : 6-5

• Weight : 215

• 40-yard dash time : 4.81 seconds

• Age : 18

• High school : El Diamante in Visalia, California