There Is No Way That Shaw Would Not Name Costello As Starter Next Year.....

……no matter what happened in training camp. He went down with injury, several times, and Shaw does not replace such a guy immediately – despite Davis Mills playing well filling in for him.

I personally think that the Cardinal do not lose much, if anything, will Mills at QB, but worry about his ability to play the whole year without injury. We do not have a back-up QB at this point who would make the Cardinal competitive – unless Shaw quickly develops Tanner Mckee returning from his mission.

More signs of issues with the program……………

By hoyaparanoia on 12.18.19 6:17pm

I think this is the new norm...

More signs of issues with the program……………

While I’m a little concerned, I think this is going to be a common occurrence with the Transfer Protocol. It’s just too easy for kids to jump ship.

……no matter what happened in training camp. He went down with injury, several times, and Shaw does not replace such a guy immediately – despite Davis Mills playing well filling in for him.

Shaw won’t replace someone immediately, but if Mills took the job next year, it wouldn’t have been immediately. Shaw has changed QB’s mid-season and let’s be honest, something seemed to be wrong with Costello.

Mills has a higher ceiling than Costello. This is good for everyone.

It may seem that way on the surface, but I am also skeptical Mills can make it through an entire season. Also, Mills has some serious flaws. First, he stares down his receivers. I haven’t seen him look off safeties or go through his progressions like Costello. Second, I am not convinced he actually understands the offense. There are times where I think he should have audibled to a run play and I’m not seeing it. I don’t see evidence Mills is really processing the field and figuring out the best play of the one’s he’s been given a la Luck/Hogan. Costello seemed to be doing more of that, though I think he just wanted to throw the ball, regardless.

In any event, I think the TP is going to continue to pave the way for "free agency" in college. At least until SB-206 passes, then players will have advertising contracts and it may be harder for them to get out of them. At least until the lawyers/agents start putting in clauses that release them if they enter the TP. Of course, that might trigger penalty clauses. I will be fascinated to see all the litigation that arises from kids holding out for more money or kids suing boosters who refuse to pay kids for whatever reason.

Speaking of 206, what happens if a booster agrees to pay some Freshman a bunch of "advertising" money to come to the program and the coach doesn’t play the kids. Do you think boosters will be putting pressure on the coach to play the kids those boosters have marketing deals with? "Hey Saban, if you don’t play Jones, then I can’t him in my used car commercials. In which case, I am not going to be paying for any more recruits."

Oh yeah…this is going to be fun.

By Blackjoy on 12.19.19 8:55am

KJ stares down receivers as well...

Though with more experience he may do so less now than his first year. However, I agree that Mills needs to improve the playcalling part of his game, especially reacting to what he sees on the field, and work on his pocket presence (looking off safeties, going through progressions quickly, feeling where the rush is coming from). His arm is fantastic but there’s lots of room to improve the football IQ/experience part of his game—which hopefully will come with more experience but some guys can progress and others do get stuck.

By worldblee on 12.19.19 9:44am

Agreed on durability...

"I am also skeptical Mills can make it through an entire season."

Yup.

Another plus to Costello, that I haven’t witnessed with Mills, is the "juice" factor. Confidence, infectious enthusiasm; in spades from KJ, not so much with Mills.

Let’s hope for a TWU reboot and a chance for Davis to become a cagey codger like Hogan…

By Plan Man on 12.19.19 10:03am

Yes, KJ definitely brings an emotional element.

I’d like to think Stanford would be better off having both of them, but I don’t know if it would be better for the players. I liked Costello. He seemed engaged and focused. But he was wildly inconsistent this year and I don’t know if it was his injuries, the play-calling, or an inability to raise his game.

I hope he got his degree and I wish him the best of luck unless we face him.

By Blackjoy on 12.19.19 10:44am

There's some rumbling that he would be a good match for Leach

I wouldn’t like to see that.

By Jeff Tarnungus on 12.19.19 1:37pm

Well Walker is returning...

So good chance we see the TWU do well in 2020.

By drkato9 on 01.02.20 9:29pm

I think KJ is a great QB

but I’d start Mills. He’s next level.

By atg_commish on 12.23.19 2:00pm

All for the best.

Mills has a higher ceiling than Costello. This is good for everyone.

By brandtjl1 on 12.18.19 8:29pm

I do think it's better that Mills can get full reps in spring football rather than splitting between the 2 QBs

By worldblee on 12.19.19 9:45am

Wow

Mature move by KJ… I personally believe he’s done more than enough to show that he can play at the next level. However an additional season will definitely seal the deal as a first rounder…
On the homefront, Mills has a full off season to rest and prep as the #1 guy. #GoCardinal #TheFutureIsNow

By Slot_Man22 on 12.19.19 11:18am

Stanford needs a really good QB coach

By gaffman on 12.19.19 11:38am

Maybe...

The immediate need imo is defense…

By Slot_Man22 on 12.19.19 11:48am

Stanford needs a slew of good coaches

QB coach
OL coach
DL coach
Offensive Coordinator
Defensive Coordinator
Linebacker Coach

There, I will leave it at that for now.

By Jeff Tarnungus on 12.19.19 1:39pm

This could just be insurance

Coming off an injury plagued season, Costello probably has some concerns about his pro prospects (or actually his draft prospects). He can’t sign with an agent, but he can follow the various on line prognosticators. If it looks like he’s not going to be drafted in the first two rounds, then he can transfer and hopefully improve his draft stock. Staying at Stanford next year probably won’t help him. With Little returning and a corral of running backs, Shaw will likely seriously cut back on passing. And Mills promises stiff competition at the QB position. But if he does transfer, it would have to be to a school where he is essentially guaranteed to start. I’m sure he remembers what happened to Chryst when he transferred to Tennessee. And it would have to be to a program that has a decent QB coach and Offensive Coordinator — which we all agree is not Stanford.

By SU74 on 12.19.19 2:27pm

Yep..

Costello will do well wherever assuming the system fits his style. It was rough watching K. Chryst play QB..he still needs to develop lol

By Slot_Man22 on 12.19.19 5:53pm

Stanford Had An Ineffective Offensive Line The Years Little Played

Not his fault. Just that the problem is bigger than Little. We have a corral of running backs who may have potential but ran for a total 350 yards on a combined 75 carries last year. Set against the established talent at receiver, it is hard for me to see Stanford being more effective at running than passing…………..though I am happy to see that play out.

Costello is not going in the first two rounds. So he is choosing to leave Stanford, where arguably he is the entrenched (though likely with a short leash) starting QB. He is choosing to leave because he sees better opportunity elsewhere. That is pretty damning. I have trouble believing that the KJ I know thinks he is going to lose the starting job to Mills (though I could make a case that Mills is a better choice). Something was not right with KJ last year…apart from injuries. What is going on under the surface at the Stanford Cardinal?

Personally, I think Davis Mills is a more talented QB and it is incumbent on Shaw to design an offense that makes up for any perceived inexperience in his mastery and execution of the vaunted Stanford playbook. Mills first two drives against Notre Dame were things of beauty. His pass a little later to a reserve tight end in the end zone was nothing short of spectacular. I think the team would have a hard time with both Costello and Mills around, especially if Shaw would elect to open the season with Costello (which he 100% would). But Stanford has no proven quality backup at QB and we will be very vulnerable to any injury to Mills. Jack West looked terrible, despite high billing. Tanner Mckee will be rusty. A lot of work needs to be done by our QB coach here………….who is not likely up to the task.

I had expected KJ to turn pro………………..not to migrate to another program. It is not the end of the world at all, but it is more than a curious development. Wonder who might be next………..if any 5th year starters are, in fact, left.

By hoyaparanoia on 12.19.19 6:18pm

Costello

Remember, Costello was playing poorly before his injury- and it’s not clear to me his poor play when he came back was directly tied to his injury- I just don’t know . KJ is a slinger who goes hot and cold. Mills was more consistent, and getting better and better. It would have been a disaster for Costello to ride the pine his last year. A good move for him IMO.

By Edgar Johnson on 12.20.19 4:59am

Before his injury?

When? Costello was looking good in the first half of the Northwestern game, until the targeting hit. He was 16-20 for 152 yards and a TD, and playing like a game manager, until that hit knocked him out of most of the season. Even improving Davis Mills never got to the same level through the rest of the season. When KJ returned against Oregon, he was back to the level in that first series—until he injured his throwing hand before reaching the red zone. Costello has the offense in hand and Oregon wasn’t coping, until that injury, which he mistakenly tried to play through. He was 16-30 for 120 yards and no TDs, missing throws as he tried to play hurt. His hand hadn’t healed when he tried to return; that’s when Shaw sat him and he’d be on the sidelines in street clothes. This season, a healthy Costello was on-par with the game manager standard inherited from Andrew Luck and Kevin Hogan. He’d learned to run, which unfortunately exposed him to that momentous targeting hit, which wasn’t his fault. What this season has done to his confidence is problematic. If he decides to withdraw from the Transfer Portal, Shaw has a tough decision.

A healthy Davis Mills was good this year but his grasp of the play book and his decision making are still a work in progress. A healthy Costello would’ve kept Mills holding a clipboard. Mills will be better next year. How much better will Costello be? It’s not a given that Mills will be the better choice. Still, Shaw would rather have that quandary than not. Otherwise, it’s Mills, Jack West, Dylan Plautz, and Tanner McKee, who’s returning from his 2-year Mormon mission. In 2021, pencil-in McKee to overtake West.

By Candid One on 12.20.19 5:05pm

A healthy Costello and a healthy Mills...

…a headache that Shaw would welcome. The Transfer Portal is new; established last year. A graduated player with remaining eligibility has an academic issue to assess. It’s not a given that a graduating Stanford senior has a grad school home awaiting. He has to be accepted to a grad school department or program. Undergrad admissions is a separate process from grad school admissions, which are handled locally within the respective schools, departments, and research program centers. If a player can’t find a landing place for a 5th year, and the NFL isn’t yet beckoning, transfer is an option—but an academic landing place is still needed at the new school.

Costello is being circumspect in his entering of the transfer portal, to explore and optimize his opportunities. He hasn’t burned any bridges; he still has the choice to return, if he has viable grad school options at Stanford. Officially, he’s not gone yet.

By Candid One on 12.20.19 5:21pm

Not Many Defensive Options in the Transfer Portal

Since August 1, among Power 5 Conference schools, there has been 8 Defensive ends and 9 Defensive tackles enter the transfer portal (excluding the 3 that have already transferred to another school). I don’t know how many of these players are 5th-year graduate students who could play immediately or undergraduates who would have to sit out a year. Schools include Minn, Ark, Purdue, Vandy (2), Rutgers, Florida St., Oklahoma St, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia Tech (2). No Pacific Coast schools. Slim pickings.

By gaffman on 12.20.19 5:49pm

UW is talking about picking up Costello from the TP

There’s been chatter on the local sports station that UW would be interested in Costello if Eason goes pro. I would not want to see Costello playing for UW.

By Blackjoy on 12.24.19 5:55pm

And now Eason is going pro...

I’m sad to see Costello go. I put a lot more stock in Costello’s 2018 season than his injury-compromised 2019. Costello’s departure, along with the other 12 players entering the TP, says more to me about a growing lack of confidence in the Stanford football program, on the part of the players. Specifically, the weaknesses in the coaching staff, both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, and the failure thus far to find a quality strength and conditioning coach to replace Shannon Turley, are problems that I think are beginning to cause real problems in Shaw’s program.

By Ed Halicki on 12.26.19 9:12pm

14 Players Now In The Portal

Including many many starters or would be starters. I get Shaw’s public perspective on this, but really wonder what is underneath it all. As far as I am aware, Stanford has not had a player unable to play for their 5th year due to the inability of Stanford to accommodate him in a graduate school program – though there were a number of 5th years last year who just punted on staying and playing.

If this is the new normal, Shaw needs to play his Freshmen and adopt a playbook strategy to help them be effective.

By hoyaparanoia on 12.27.19 9:16am

Be sad when he's actually gone.

He isn’t yet.

By drkato9 on 01.02.20 9:36pm