K. J. Costello
refer to caption
Costello with the Stanford Cardinal in 2018
Personal information
Born: (1997-06-07) June 7, 1997 (age 26)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
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:
Position:Quarterback
Undrafted:2021
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

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

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

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

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

Los Angeles Chargers

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

Costello signed with the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League on May 27, 2022.[15]

New Orleans Saints

On August 10, 2022, Costello signed with the New Orleans Saints.[16] He was waived on August 21, 2022.

Philadelphia Stars (second stint)

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

Spring Football statistics
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

  1. ^ "10 things to know about Mississippi State QB KJ Costello". Saturday Down South. September 10, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ McKinney, Erik (March 26, 2015). "K.J. Costello picks Stanford". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  4. ^ Johnson, Chris (March 26, 2015). "Four-star QB K.J. Costello commits to Stanford over Michigan, USC". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Bonagura, Kyle (November 3, 2017). "Stanford to start K.J. Costello over Keller Chryst at QB". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  8. ^ "No. 21 Stanford to start K.J. Costello at quarterback". USA Today. Gannett. Associated Press. November 2, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  9. ^ "K.J. Costello 2017 Game Log". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  10. ^ Goldberg, Rob (December 18, 2019). "Stanford QB K.J. Costello Reportedly Enters Transfer Portal". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  11. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (February 3, 2020). "Ex-Stanford QB Costello transferring to Miss. St". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Sign Quarterback KJ Costello". Chargers.com. August 1, 2021.
  14. ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Announce Roster Moves". Chargers.com. August 17, 2021.
  15. ^ @USFLStars (May 28, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved June 3, 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Saints sign free agent QB K.J. Costello with Jameis Winston on the mend". USAToday.com. August 10, 2022.
  17. ^ @USFLStars (February 17, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ @USFLStars (March 19, 2023). "Transferred to Inactive List" (Tweet). Retrieved March 20, 2023 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.

External links

Mississippi State Bulldogs starting quarterbacks
Stanford Cardinal starting quarterbacks
Categories