Mississippi State Football: 3 Bulldogs with most to prove in 2020

Mike Leach will have a graduate transfer under center for his first season in Starkville in Stanford graduate transfer K.J. Costello.

Costello was held to just five games due to injury last season but threw for 1,038 yards and six touchdowns while completing 61 percent of his passes when on the field. In 2018, he started all 13 games for Stanford throwing for 3,540 yards and 29 touchdowns with just 11 interceptions.

Expectations are sky-high for the Cardinal transfer as 247Sports’ Brad Crawford dubbed Costello the top quarterback in the SEC even though he has yet to play a game in the conference.

With that, he has more to prove than anyone on the Bulldogs’ 2020 roster. Many believe Costello will transition well to the SEC and have a solid year, but many can argue he is ahead of Kyle Trask, Kellen Mond or even Mac Jones in the SEC quarterback power rankings.

He’ll have a perfect chance to prove it because if he thrives in the SEC, he will likely hear his name called early in the 2021 NFL Draft and make Crawford look pretty smart.