Stanford Football: K.J. Costello’s injury a major setback for Cardinal offense
The outlook for the progress of the offense for Stanford football, in the Spring, does not look as great after the news of KJ Costello’s injury.
The news that the Stanford football offense is now without likely starting quarterback K.J. Costello for the Spring, due to a hip injury, hurts the progress the offense will make before the start of the 2018 campaign. Even though Costello is not expected to miss any time during the 2018 season due to this injury, the momentum and chemistry of the starters might not be where it needs to be.
In 2017, head Stanford coach David Shaw went with senior quarterback Keller Chryst for the early portion of schedule. But, Chryst could not find much consistency leading the offense, and Shaw gave the backup Costello a shot.
Costello did not disappoint last year, leading Stanford to a PAC-12 North title all while tossing 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions. His efficiency allowed the Cardinal to give him the ball in key situations, when opposing defenses had locked down on Heisman finalist running back Bryce Love.
Stanford returns a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball. That includes Costello, Love, and star wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.
How will this impact Stanford’s offense?
As long as Costello recovers in full by the time fall practice comes around, this situation ultimately should be fine for Stanford. Yet, despite the offensive scheme revolving around Love and the ground attack, we saw last year that Stanford needs a quality quarterback in clutch situations.
The quarterback spot for Stanford is not as strong as it was last year, due to the departure of Chryst. They’ll run with David Mills and Jack Richardson during Spring Practice, the other two quarterbacks on the depth chart. And, if Costello misses the Spring Game, it could really hurt his rhythm entering the regular season.
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Stanford is a team with PAC-12 Championship aspirations in 2018, and possibly even a shot at the College Football Playoff. They bring back the potential Heisman favorite this year in Love. The support of a solid quarterback like Costello is huge for those aspirations.