7 Takeaways From State’s Quarterbacks
September 16, 2020 | Football
Will Rogers and K.J. Costello met with the media for the first time on Tuesday night
STARKVILLE – Quarterbacks K.J. Costello and Will Rogers met with the media for the first time on Tuesday night. The pair broke down their relationship off the field and gave a unique insight into how Mike Leach's "Air Raid" system has started to take shape in Starkville. Here are seven takeaways from the Bulldog passers.
With no spring ball, Costello and Rogers took it upon themselves to start implementing the system and its schemes.
"We kind of looked at each other in June or July and said, 'We've got a month and a half. Let's team up and teach this offense to the guys,'" Costello said. "We're competing, but it was on our shoulders. Since day one, quarterbacks were implementing the offense ourselves."
The quarterbacks could teach the offense to their teammates because it wasn't that unfamiliar to them. Costello had at least four teammates from high school go on to play at Washington State. On top of that, he was familiar with Leach from their time together in the Pac-12. Costello watched Luke Falk highlights when he was younger and played against Gardner Minshew II.
Rogers attended the same high school as Minshew. In fact, he ran some of the exact same plays at Brandon High School that he's now calling with the Bulldogs.
"We come into a completely new system and new staff and the bottom line is he knew more of the system than maybe some of the guys that had been here in the past," Costello said. "It showed. He was able to articulate the system. He had ran the system to a certain extent and was familiar with certain terms."
Leach recruited Rogers out of high school and the Cougars were his first offer before he opted to stay in-state.
"It's pretty cool how they ended up here," Rogers said. "I never would have expected it."
"I'm extremely comfortable in this offense," Rogers said. "We did the same thing in high school, a lot of the same plays just called different stuff."
For Costello, it's been a bit of an adjustment, but he can say he feels at home in the system now as well. The spring and summer work with his teammates made him feel like he knew the concepts on paper before ever stepping on the field in the fall.
Now, the two are focused on making quicker reads and having a feel for what's coming next. Costello described his progressions as moving from 1-2-3 to 1a-1b-2. Realizing that the same play could be successful against multiple defensive looks only strengthened their confidence.
While watching Leach in the Pac-12, Costello became "familiar from a distance" even though Leach's system was "vastly different" from what was run at Stanford. Costello would watch defensive scout film on Washington State because he was intrigued by the Air Raid concepts and wanted to see them in action.
Leach's impact beyond the Xs and Os cemented his decision to join him in Starkville.
"You could tell a bunch of his players at Washington State were A) the most excited to play and B) interested in elevating everyone around them," Costello said. "From day one, the effort and attitude of this team is something that's inspired me."
According to Costello, the goal of Leach's practices is to "train intuition through repetition." The quarterbacks are beginning to understand how things will play out regardless of the coverage they're facing and have more of a feel for what's coming.
Another unique feature of the Mike Leach offense? "He really gives the keys to the quarterback in this system, which has been something I'm really impressed with and know comes with a lot of responsibility," Costello said.
Practices have been picking up the pace and getting more competitive as the season approaches.
"The SEC, they always say it means more," Costello said. "I've seen it just in the day-to-day practice. You've got dudes nearly going live, which is awesome to see. Guys are battling for roles on the team, fighting for starting spots."
"What a lot of people don't understand about this offense is that one play can turn out three to six different ways," Costello said. "It was super enticing to come play in Leach's system. I didn't know how different it was. At Stanford we were attacking more what would work on paper coverage wise, what works against Cover 2, Cover 4, Cover 6. Leach is just trying to attack space."
Attacking that space is a different concept at first, but it becomes simple. Take what the defense gives you and take it immediately. Quarterbacks don't need to progress through every read. When they see a gift, they are expected to take it and let the ball fly.
"If you know what you're doing and make quick decisions in this system, you're going to be successful pretty fast," Costello said.
The funniest moment of the media session came when Rogers revealed that he and Costello spend a lot of time outside of practice playing cards and golf together. Of course, the natural question was who usually wins.
"K.J. 100 percent," Rogers said. "He's a really good golfer."
Costello's been impressed too, especially on the field.
"He's a really good man," he said. "He reminds me a lot of myself, not to pat myself on the back, but me coming in as a freshman. He's really eager to get reps, not gun shy. A lot of times freshmen are timid at times."
"We're friends on the field," Rogers added. "We work together. When he comes off, he asks what I was thinking. When I come off, he tells me what he was thinking."
1. The quarterbacks taught themselves and their teammates the new offense
With no spring ball, Costello and Rogers took it upon themselves to start implementing the system and its schemes.
"We kind of looked at each other in June or July and said, 'We've got a month and a half. Let's team up and teach this offense to the guys,'" Costello said. "We're competing, but it was on our shoulders. Since day one, quarterbacks were implementing the offense ourselves."
2. Both have connections to Leach and the Air Raid
The quarterbacks could teach the offense to their teammates because it wasn't that unfamiliar to them. Costello had at least four teammates from high school go on to play at Washington State. On top of that, he was familiar with Leach from their time together in the Pac-12. Costello watched Luke Falk highlights when he was younger and played against Gardner Minshew II.
Rogers attended the same high school as Minshew. In fact, he ran some of the exact same plays at Brandon High School that he's now calling with the Bulldogs.
"We come into a completely new system and new staff and the bottom line is he knew more of the system than maybe some of the guys that had been here in the past," Costello said. "It showed. He was able to articulate the system. He had ran the system to a certain extent and was familiar with certain terms."
Leach recruited Rogers out of high school and the Cougars were his first offer before he opted to stay in-state.
"It's pretty cool how they ended up here," Rogers said. "I never would have expected it."
3. Both feel comfortable with the schemes
"I'm extremely comfortable in this offense," Rogers said. "We did the same thing in high school, a lot of the same plays just called different stuff."
For Costello, it's been a bit of an adjustment, but he can say he feels at home in the system now as well. The spring and summer work with his teammates made him feel like he knew the concepts on paper before ever stepping on the field in the fall.
Now, the two are focused on making quicker reads and having a feel for what's coming next. Costello described his progressions as moving from 1-2-3 to 1a-1b-2. Realizing that the same play could be successful against multiple defensive looks only strengthened their confidence.
4. Costello was drawn to Leach's system from the other sideline
While watching Leach in the Pac-12, Costello became "familiar from a distance" even though Leach's system was "vastly different" from what was run at Stanford. Costello would watch defensive scout film on Washington State because he was intrigued by the Air Raid concepts and wanted to see them in action.
Leach's impact beyond the Xs and Os cemented his decision to join him in Starkville.
"You could tell a bunch of his players at Washington State were A) the most excited to play and B) interested in elevating everyone around them," Costello said. "From day one, the effort and attitude of this team is something that's inspired me."
5. Leach's coaching style is a little bit different
According to Costello, the goal of Leach's practices is to "train intuition through repetition." The quarterbacks are beginning to understand how things will play out regardless of the coverage they're facing and have more of a feel for what's coming.
Another unique feature of the Mike Leach offense? "He really gives the keys to the quarterback in this system, which has been something I'm really impressed with and know comes with a lot of responsibility," Costello said.
Practices have been picking up the pace and getting more competitive as the season approaches.
"The SEC, they always say it means more," Costello said. "I've seen it just in the day-to-day practice. You've got dudes nearly going live, which is awesome to see. Guys are battling for roles on the team, fighting for starting spots."
6. The Air Raid isn't as simple as you think, but it also is that simple
"What a lot of people don't understand about this offense is that one play can turn out three to six different ways," Costello said. "It was super enticing to come play in Leach's system. I didn't know how different it was. At Stanford we were attacking more what would work on paper coverage wise, what works against Cover 2, Cover 4, Cover 6. Leach is just trying to attack space."
Attacking that space is a different concept at first, but it becomes simple. Take what the defense gives you and take it immediately. Quarterbacks don't need to progress through every read. When they see a gift, they are expected to take it and let the ball fly.
"If you know what you're doing and make quick decisions in this system, you're going to be successful pretty fast," Costello said.
7. Costello is the better golfer
The funniest moment of the media session came when Rogers revealed that he and Costello spend a lot of time outside of practice playing cards and golf together. Of course, the natural question was who usually wins.
"K.J. 100 percent," Rogers said. "He's a really good golfer."
Costello's been impressed too, especially on the field.
"He's a really good man," he said. "He reminds me a lot of myself, not to pat myself on the back, but me coming in as a freshman. He's really eager to get reps, not gun shy. A lot of times freshmen are timid at times."
"We're friends on the field," Rogers added. "We work together. When he comes off, he asks what I was thinking. When I come off, he tells me what he was thinking."
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