K. J. Costello
![]() Costello with the Stanford Cardinal in 2018 | |
Personal information | |
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Born: | Newport Beach, California, U.S. | June 7, 1997
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Santa Margarita Catholic (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) |
College: |
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Position: | Quarterback |
Undrafted: | 2021 |
Career history | |
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Kevin Richard "K. J." Costello (born June 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Stanford and the Mississippi State. He previously played for the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints.
Early years
[edit]Costello attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. During his high school football career, he passed for a school record 8,222 yards, surpassing a record previously held by Carson Palmer[1] and 62 passing touchdowns.[2] Rated as one of the top quarterback recruits in his class, Costello committed to Stanford University to play college football.[3][4]
College career
[edit]Costello redshirted his first year at Stanford in 2016. He entered 2017 as a backup to Keller Chryst, but made his first career start against UCLA after Chryst was injured.[5][6] Costello returned as the backup after the game; however, he took over as the starter prior to the eighth game of the season.[7][8] He remained the starter throughout the rest of the season and finished with 1,573 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions and took the Cardinal to the Pac-12 Championship game.
KJ Costello started 35 games in College football. He holds the SEC Single-Game passing record with 623 yards against the defending national champions, LSU Tigers. He passed Andrew Luck & John Elway for all-time on the list for most passing yards in a single season at Stanford with 3540 yards. [9]
On December 18, 2019, Costello entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer.[10] On February 3, 2020, Costello announced he would be grad transferring to Mississippi State.[11]
Costello made his first start for Mississippi State on September 26, 2020, where he broke the SEC record for passing yards in a single game with 623 yards in a 44–34 victory over the defending national champion, LSU.[12]
Statistics
[edit]Season | Team | GP | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
2017 | Stanford | 11 | 124 | 211 | 58.8 | 1,573 | 7.5 | 14 | 4 | 139.5 | 28 | 92 | 3.3 | 3 |
2018 | Stanford | 13 | 269 | 413 | 65.1 | 3,540 | 8.6 | 29 | 11 | 155.0 | 42 | -20 | -0.5 | 0 |
2019 | Stanford | 5 | 102 | 167 | 61.1 | 1,038 | 6.2 | 6 | 3 | 121.6 | 18 | 24 | 1.3 | 0 |
2020 | Mississippi State | 4 | 130 | 196 | 66.3 | 1,267 | 6.5 | 6 | 10 | 120.5 | 22 | -65 | -3.0 | 0 |
Career | 33 | 625 | 987 | 63.3 | 7,418 | 7.5 | 55 | 28 | 139.2 | 110 | 31 | 0.3 | 3 |
Professional career
[edit]Los Angeles Chargers
[edit]On August 1, 2021, Costello signed with the Los Angeles Chargers after going undrafted in the 2021 NFL draft.[13] He was waived on August 17.[14]
Philadelphia Stars
[edit]Costello signed with the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League on May 27, 2022.[15]
New Orleans Saints
[edit]On August 10, 2022, Costello signed with the New Orleans Saints.[16] He was waived on August 21, 2022.
Philadelphia Stars (second stint)
[edit]On February 17, 2023, Costello re-signed with the Philadelphia Stars.[17] He was transferred to the team's inactive list on March 19, 2023.[18] The Stars folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[19]
Career statistics
[edit]Year | Team | League | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
2022 | PHI | USFL | 2 | 0 | 0-0 | 4 | 10 | 40.0 | 69 | 6.9 | 0 | 0 | 64.2 | 5 | -15 | -3.0 | 0 |
References
[edit]- ^ "10 things to know about Mississippi State QB KJ Costello". Saturday Down South. September 10, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ FitzGerald, Tom (September 28, 2017). "Stanford's K.J. Costello burst onto scene as Kevin Hogan did in 2012". SFGate. Hearst Communications. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ McKinney, Erik (March 26, 2015). "K.J. Costello picks Stanford". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Chris (March 26, 2015). "Four-star QB K.J. Costello commits to Stanford over Michigan, USC". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ Taylor, John (September 30, 2017). "With Keller Chryst injured, K.J. Costello to make first career start at QB for Stanford". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ Metcalfe, Jeff (September 25, 2017). "Pac-12 rewind: Stanford turns to K.J. Costello at QB after Chryst injury, wins big". The Arizona Republic. Gannett. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ Bonagura, Kyle (November 3, 2017). "Stanford to start K.J. Costello over Keller Chryst at QB". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ "No. 21 Stanford to start K.J. Costello at quarterback". USA Today. Gannett. Associated Press. November 2, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ "K.J. Costello 2017 Game Log". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ Goldberg, Rob (December 18, 2019). "Stanford QB K.J. Costello Reportedly Enters Transfer Portal". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (February 3, 2020). "Ex-Stanford QB Costello transferring to Miss. St". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Scarborough, Alex (September 26, 2020). "K.J. Costello throws for SEC-record 623 yards as Mississippi State Bulldogs upset LSU Tigers". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Sign Quarterback KJ Costello". Chargers.com. August 1, 2021.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Announce Roster Moves". Chargers.com. August 17, 2021.
- ^ @USFLStars (May 27, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved June 3, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Saints sign free agent QB K.J. Costello with Jameis Winston on the mend". USAToday.com. August 10, 2022.
- ^ @USFLStars (February 17, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ @USFLStars (March 19, 2023). "Transferred to Inactive List" (Tweet). Retrieved March 20, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
External links
[edit]- 1997 births
- Living people
- Players of American football from Newport Beach, California
- American football quarterbacks
- Stanford Cardinal football players
- Mississippi State Bulldogs football players
- Los Angeles Chargers players
- Philadelphia Stars (2022) players
- New Orleans Saints players
- Santa Margarita Catholic High School alumni