The Stanford Cardinal won’t have their leader available when they travel south to take on the USC Trojans on Saturday night. KJ Costello has been ruled out for at least this week after taking a nasty hit in a 17-7 Stanford win over Northwestern last weekend. In his stead, Davis Mills will get his first ever start.
After Thursday’s practice, @CoachDavidShaw announced that K.J. Costello has been ruled out for Saturday’s game. Davis Mills is expected to make his first career start against USC. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/EVBcVih7n3
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) September 6, 2019
Costello was injured late in the first half and didn’t step onto the field after halftime. While trying to lead Stanford into scoring position just before the halftime whistle, he took off on a run to pick up some additional yardage and was hit in the head while sliding. It appeared that Costello had suffered a concussion as a result of the hit, and that was confirmed after the game.
Such a dangerous hit to the head of Stanford QB K.J. Costello. Somehow Northwestern's Earnest Brown was not ejected. pic.twitter.com/FWfD5YIfok
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) August 31, 2019
Costello became Stanford’s quarterback in the second half of the 2017 season. He established himself as a solid game manager as a sophomore, tossing just four interceptions and being sacked only eight times after taking over as the Cardinal signal caller. Costello led the team to a 5-2 record in his seven starts and entered 2018 as the school’s entrenched starter.
He had a breakout campaign in 2018, leading to speculation that he could be taken sometime in the first two days of the 2020 NFL Draft. Costello completed over 65 percent of his passes for more than 3,500 yards and threw 29 touchdown passes compared to just 11 interceptions.
Mills replaced him in the second half against Northwestern and held the fort down. Mills completed 7 of 14 passes for 81 yards, but the team wasn’t as effective with Costello out.
Stanford will face USC on Saturday night, and the Trojans have been forced to start a back-up quarterback for this game too. JT Daniels suffered a season-ending injury in USC’s opener against Fresno State, so freshman Kedon Slovis will take the reins. Slovis went 6-8 for 57 yards and threw an interception in the opener.
H/T Sports Illustrated
