FORT COLLINS — Like the program he plays for, Colorado State’s Rashard Higgins appears to have a very bright future ahead of him.

But while it’s fun to get caught up in thinking what could be, it’s also important to appreciate what is, and through his first season and a half at CSU, Higgins has already established himself as a dangerous weapon for the up-and-coming Rams.

Higgins enjoyed a record-setting performance in his team’s 42-17 romp over visiting Tulsa on Saturday, becoming the first Ram in program history with four receiving touchdowns in one game to go along with 178 yards on just six catches.

His first three grabs each went to the house — for 28, 31 and 73 yards — as the Rams stormed out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back.

‘Hollywood’ showed off his elusive open-field running ability on the 73-yarder, a catch-and-run with 5 minutes left in the second quarter in which the sophomore put a video game-like move on Tulsa safety DeMarco Nelson on the way to the end zone.

“I think it was Fred (Zerblis) who had my lead block coming to get the cornerback. Then it was just me and the safety,” Higgins said. “I put a move on him … made him look dirty. Then I just turned on the jets after that.

“He’s still looking (for me).”

The Mesquite, Texas, native wasn’t a one-man show of course. He benefited from a dominant CSU run game that gashed the Tulsa defense from the opening kickoff. The Rams ran for 262 yards on 31 carries for a gaudy 7.5 average.

They were particularly effective in the first half, gaining 213 yards on just 17 carries (12.5 per rush), setting up the play-action game for quarterback Garrett Grayson.

“The play-action game was huge, no doubt about it,” said CSU coach Jim McElwain. “We were hoping we could get a little bit out of their safety on the play-action and get Rashard over the top, and it happened a couple times

“Anytime you can establish the run, you’ve got an opportunity to be successful.”

After catching three passes for three touchdowns, Higgins’ fourth grab later in the first half (for a loss of 3 yards) gave him 100 catches for his career in just 19 games, the fastest Ram in program history to reach the century mark, passing Rashaun Greer’s previous mark of 24 games.

That’s a sure to sign of an impressive start to a blossoming career, one that Tulsa coach Bill Blankenship took note of afterward in a conversation with Grayson, saying that Higgins is a “completely different player” than he was last year as a freshman when the Rams lost in Tulsa.

“I think that’s pretty evident,” Grayson said of Higgins’ improvement. “I’ve talked him up since he first walked on campus. I saw the physical tools he had. He just needed to adjust to the speed of the game.

“I think obviously from here on out it’s only going to get better,” Grayson said. “I’m actually a little bit jealous that the other quarterbacks are going to get to play with him his junior and senior year, because that kid’s going to be a star. I’m obviously very happy that we have him now.”

After an encouraging but sometimes inconsistent freshman season, Higgins seems to be growing into a more reliable threat.

He now has three 100-yard receiving games in 2014 and has at least 98 yards in all but one, the opener against CU. His four receiving scores also gave him 14 for his career, putting him ninth on the program’s all-time list.

“I slapped him up upside the head a little bit when we got in the locker room and said, ‘This is the expectation. Now let’s do it 100 percent every day,'” McElwain said with a smile. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that he’s a Ram.”

Contact Reporter-Herald Sports Writer Sean Star at 970-669-5050 ext. 512, sstar@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/seanvstar