Mike Bobo wanted to make himself very clear last week when he addressed the media regarding his team's quarterback competition.

What fans and media have talked about as a two-man race between junior incumbent Nick Stevens and senior graduate transfer Faton Bauta has become a three-man competition with the rapid ascension of true freshman Collin Hill, who signed with the Rams last December and has been on campus since January.

Hill, who Bauta and Stevens have both praised his increasing knowledge of the offense, could be the gem of CSU's 2016 recruiting class after the Rams were able to hold off a late push from South Carolina to flip Hill's commitment. Rated as the 20th-best pocket passer nationally in his class, Hill surprisingly only had a half-dozen Division I offers when he inked with the Rams.

But if the reviews from Bauta and Stevens, as well as head coach Mike Bobo are true, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Hill has very bright future at CSU. But they might call on him sooner than anyone expected.

The team has yet to release a depth chart during preseason camp, but Bobo has repeatedly stated that the "pecking order" at the quarterback position is constantly fluctuating, often times changing in the middle of practice.

"We're looking for somebody that can be consistent," Bobo said. "I don't want to use the term 'game manager' because I don't need that. I need someone who is going to play the position like it's supposed to be played. Hit your targets, make the right decisions and don't turn a bad play into a catastrophe. There's no question Collin Hill is part of the competition. ... He's responded favorably. I think he's looser than the other two. The other two are kind of trying to be too perfect, whereas Collin is still young and dumb enough where he's going to see it and throw it."

As a senior at Dorman High School, Hill completed 241 of 414 passes, amassing 3,505 yards and 35 touchdowns while throwing just 11 interceptions. One of five finalists for the 2015 South Carolina Mr. Football award, Hill also was named the South Carolina team's Most Valuable Player in the South Carolina-North Carolina Shrine Bowl.

Despite the accolades, Hill wasn't much different than most freshmen when they first arrive at a college program. With his head spinning while trying to catch up on Bobo's playbook this past spring, Hill was thrust into spring practice, often running with the No. 2 or No. 3 offense. According to Stevens though, Hill has dramatically improved his understand of the system from when he first arrived and when the Rams opened fall camp Aug. 4.

"I think that Collin has definitely picked up really, really fast on the offense," Stevens said. "When he came in this spring, it started off a little tough because there was just a lot of install at once. But after those first few days, he really caught up and put in some work in the playbook during the summer, and he's done a really good job this fall so far."

Stevens and Bauta, who are the only two quarterbacks available to the media, agreed that each quarterback has a similar understanding of Bobo's system despite varying amounts of time under the second-year head coach.

Bauta, who was recruited by Bobo to the University of Georgia where he spent three years under his tutelage, believes his familiarity has helped him to quickly grasp Bobo's playbook at CSU.

"I think (the system) is very similar, and the terminology might be a little different, but the concepts and stuff are still the same," Bauta said Wednesday.

Now with more than 18 months under his belt in Bobo's system, Stevens believes he also has a firm grasp on the play calls, audibles and terminology and can finally concern himself more with reading the defenses he's facing than trying to remember what protection calls and route combinations go with each play.

Slightly more than three weeks remain until the Rams face in-state rival Colorado Sept. 2 in Denver, but Bobo has put no timetable on his decision to name a quarterback, noting that the team didn't even have a full scrimmage under its belts before Thursday afternoon. He believes Thursday's scrimmage will provide a better look into what each quarterback can do in a game-like situation, which will ultimately decide who takes the field at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

"Our job as coaches, myself and Coach Letson is getting the guys to go out there and cut it loose," Bobo said. "They've got to realize you've got play within yourself, play every snap whether you threw a touchdown or threw an interception, you've got to line back up, trust what you see, trust your protection and play ball. That's part of coaching. You're going to have to make a tough decision. Is it going to be popular with all three of those guys? No. It will be popular with one of them. But we've had a healthy competition. ... Ultimately these three kids are in a competition for the No. 1 spot, and they all want what's best for Colorado State and this football team, but they all three want to be the man, which is a good thing."

GoldandGreenNews.com Digital Producer Keegan Pope can be reached at keegan.pope21@gmail.com and on Twitter @ByKeeganPope.