Evan Mozzochi lifted his head after he caught the shotgun snap, and what he saw was a whirlwind of Northern Colorado players zipping around Holt Arena at an impossible speed.

Idaho State's sophomore backup quarterback would later learn on film that a crease was opening between center Ryan Henry and right guard Mitch Rudder. But feeling slightly flustered on his first-ever collegiate play, Mozzochi stalled behind Henry on the keeper and was tackled after a 2-yard gain.

"I just needed to make a decision and go," Mozzochi said about the play, which came two weeks ago. "I didn't make the decision quick enough in getting out and getting around everybody."

Thankfully for Mozzochi, he'll have plenty of opportunities the rest of the season to do better. The third-year sophomore saw his first extended action last week against Northern Arizona, when he played the entire fourth quarter and completed four of his 15 passes for 37 yards.

Russel Hill remains the team's starting quarterback. But Idaho State's coaches have made it clear Mozzochi's share of snaps will grow in Saturday's 1:35 p.m. game at Montana State and beyond. So far during practices, Mozzochi has demonstrated a strong arm, an ability to throw on the run and an affinity for carrying the ball. Now, the Bengals want to know whether he can do the same in games.

"At this point, we need to take a look at Evan," Idaho State coach John Zamberlin said. "He could very well be a guy that plays more and more toward the end of the year for us. We'll take more of an opportunity for him to show us what he can do."

The Bengals - Mozzochi included - have found the initial results encouraging. Bothered by jitters during his first drive late in the third quarter against Northern Arizona, Mozzochi overthrew receiver Kelvin Krosch on third down.

He calmed down on the next possession. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Mozzochi ploughed ahead 3 yards on a keeper - his favorite play - for a first down. He hit receiver Roderick Rumble on a 3-yard pass two plays after that for his first career completion.

Mozzochi later beat a Lumberjacks blitz by dumping the ball to running back Skylar Morgan for a 26-yard catch-and-run, and he almost added a touchdown pass to receiver Jaron Taylor.

"We took a couple of shots with him late that weren't completed but were throws that were thrown on time," quarterbacks coach Brian Jensen said. "That showed that he settled down, that he was trusting what he was seeing."

What Mozzochi accomplished last week won't win him any awards, but it nonetheless represented a vast improvement over what he was capable of just a few years ago.

Mozzochi arrived at Idaho State in 2007 from Columbia River High in Vancouver, Wash., where his job was simply to find an open player and throw him the ball. As a freshman redshirt, having to learn pre-snap coverages left his head "swimming."

The logical thing for Mozzochi to do was latch on to someone who knew what he was doing, and Hill fit the bill perfectly.

Mozzochi watched film with Hill. He played catch with Hill after practices. He stayed close to Hill on the sidelines during games and discussed their opponents' tendencies.

"He listens well," Hill said, smiling slyly. "He's a good kid. Fun to be around, so first of all, I don't want to push him off to the side because he's annoying me or anything."

By the middle of his redshirt freshman season last year, Mozzochi showed a much better rhythm with his receivers.

He doesn't own the cannon that former starter Kyle Blum has, but Mozzochi threw hard enough to fit balls into tight windows at times. He ran bootlegs well because of his accuracy on the run. Best of all, the hefty Mozzochi showed no fear barreling into the line of scrimmage on quarterback draws.

A few weeks before the Northern Colorado game, Jensen began designing more plays for Mozzochi in practice. The message was clear: The Bengals could call on Mozzochi to enter a game any day now.

"It didn't really matter to me, honestly, what I heard or not, because I was going to prepare the same way no matter what," Mozzochi said. "I just feel like that's how it should be done. That's just how I am and how we are, and that's how our mentality is."

Mozzochi's wait ended when he made his one-play debut against Northern Colorado. The Bengals originally intended to toss him in the game a few more times, but they had to scrap those plans as the Bears steadily pulled ahead.

Given that the Bengals are in the midst of an 0-8 season, the coaches might be more willing from here on out to let Mozzochi feel his way through a game, as they did last week.

The Bengals believe he is close to figuring it out. Mozzochi nearly threw his first touchdown late in the game last week when he lobbed a fade pass to Taylor from 7 yards out. The ball barely ticked off the outstretched wide receiver's hands.

If Mozzochi has his way, though, he would rather score his first touchdown on - what else? - a quarterback draw. One of his most memorable moments in high school came his junior year when he slammed helmet-to-helmet against a safety at the goal line and bowled him into the end zone.

Hill calls that Mozzochi's "rhino mode," when he "throws his head around, his big, old dome."

"I haven't really had any of those moments here," Mozzochi said, "because in practice, we can't get hit."

Well, all that's about to change for him.