Q&A: K.J. Costello

STARKVILLE - Each week during the 2020 football season, HailState.com will catch up with one football student-athlete to talk about football, personal favorites and everything that makes them unique. This week, we catch up with senior quarterback K.J. Costello.

Q: Who is your favorite golfer?
KC: Tiger Woods. I watched him growing up and then watched him win The Masters in 2019. I was lucky enough to meet him a couple of times [while playing at Stanford], too.

Q: Who do you model your game after?
KC: I always liked Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady.

Q: Those are kind of opposite styles, what drew you to those guys?
KC: Aaron has so much arm talent, quick feet and he plays a less structured style of the game. He came from an Air Raid-type style at Cal. Tom is from that Michigan pro-style system. He always gets the offense in the right play and manages the whole system. I ran the more pro-style offense at Stanford and now am running the Air Raid, so it's funny how it works out.

Q: What is your favorite meal?
KC: Ribeye streak with a little lobster mac and cheese and asparagus. Maybe start it off with a little lobster bisque soup.

Q: How good of a cook are you?
KC: Since I've been at Mississippi State I have been cooking a lot more. I have a little sweet marinade that I use on salmon that I made up. A little soy sauce, brown sugar and some sriracha. Just kind of threw that together in the last month.

Q: When and why did you become a quarterback?
KC: I grew up playing football, baseball, basketball and golf, but I started playing quarterback when I was five years old in flag football. I played quarterback, running back and linebacker. I loved being around the ball. I transitioned to playing only quarterback [when I was in middle school] when the hitting started getting a little harder.

Q: Why did you choose quarterback?
KC: You have the most responsibility, which I see as inspiring and motivating, knowing that people are counting on you.

Q: What are you watching right now?
Q: I just finished Yellowstone. And, I actually watched an interesting documentary called Social Distancing, talking about how these devices are so addictive.

Q: If you could play another sport, what would it be?
KC: Golf. As a joke, golf is my Plan B. I played competitive golf when I was younger and beat a couple of kids that were top-20 in the world when I was about 13. Then, I realized I couldn't play all of these sports competitively. I didn't play [competitive golf] in high school, but I still like to beat my friends who play college golf right now.

Q: What excites you about the Air Raid?
KC: It was the polar opposite from the system I played in [at Stanford]. I played in an up-tempo offense in high school, so I wanted to matchup the pro-style system with the Air Raid concept. Hopefully that will help me get to the next level.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

K.J. Costello

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