Tad Boyle and Co., effective this week, have welcomed a new walk-on player to the fold: true freshman quarterback Drew Carter.

Carter, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound player from Tigard, Ore., received scholarships on both the hardwood and gridiron coming out of high school.

Portland State and UC San Diego were among the basketball programs on his trail out of high school, while the Buffaloes, Nevada, Fresno State, Boise State and others wanted him to play quarterback.

As a junior at Tigard, he averaged 25.0 points, 6.0 boards and 3.0 assists per game.

In the end, Carter chose Colorado, accepting a scholarship to play football. But from the get-go, he vocalized his intentions to continue his multi-sport career in college.

“He’s been with us two days," Boyle said. "Karl (Dorrell) and I had some conversations and it’s something Drew really wanted to try when he got here. So, we’ll get him a feel and let him get his feet wet."

"He’s coming in brand new, so it’s a clean slate. I’m going to give it a couple weeks and sit down with Drew and see where things are. But I think, let’s just see how it goes."

As Brendon Lewis' primary backup on the football field this past fall, Carter saw limited action in six games, going 5-of-12 through the air with 34 yards.

Now, with the football concluded and some time to spare before the football team begins its January offseason workouts, Carter can dip his feet in the water at the CU Events Center.

"He’s a live body, strong, he’s got fresh legs — he’s a good addition, especially to our scout team," Boyle said. "He gives a level of athleticism and quickness and physicality that we don’t have right now on the team."

"So, it’s been good so far. It’s been two days and we’ll readdress it here as we get through finals and see where we are in mid-to-late December."

Boyle admitted that Carter has a ways to go before he gets acclimated to the terminology and practice habits the Buffs use on a day-to-day basis.

For now, Boyle is content to keep things on more of a trial basis.

Obvious items for Carter, whose scholarship at Colorado is to play football, not basketball, include how his new basketball career with the Buffs will work out as far as scheduling with football is concerned down the line.

For starters, the Buffaloes go through a pretty intensive offseason lifting regimen beginning in January and of course, CU's spring football schedule is bound to conflict with the Pac-12 Conference/postseason games on the hardwood.

Ultimately, as Carter learns the ropes, Boyle added a disclaimer to fans who might have false expectations of seeing him take the floor in a game any time soon.

“He’s so new," Boyle said. "I mean, he doesn’t know what 22 defense is right now. He doesn’t know what our ball screen coverages are, he doesn’t know our plays — he’s going to be drinking water from a fire hose here for a while, so, seeing him on the floor in the rotation is not going to happen here immediately by any means."

"But, it’s a learning curve. I think something he can kind of get a feel for, like, ‘Is this something I want to take on and can I make it work, can I manage?’ I don’t know the answers to those things."

Leading into this week, Carter already has a relationship with many of CU's basketball players.

Carter got to know them over the summer by playing pickup basketball and conversely, Colorado's hoopers were regular attendees at Folsom Field on Saturdays over the last few months.

"Most of the team already knows him and we were coming out and supporting the football team," freshman guard K.J. Simpson said. "So, it’s a huge addition. He’s going to help us especially in terms of practice, when we’re getting ready for tough opponents like Tennessee. He’ll be active, attack the basket and stuff like that, so he'll help us. He’s a huge addition.”