Stanford redshirt Sophomore quarterback K.J. Costello enters 2018 as the starting quarterback and though he was limited due to injury in the spring, Costello is getting a full fall training camp as the starter for the first time after taking over deep into the 2017 as a starter. Before turning the page and talking about what’s in store this season, Costello talked about what he sees now when looking back at himself last year on film.

“One of the things that stands out to me right away that jumps into my brain is knowing what my role is, knowing what my job is and running this offense as if it's a well-oiled machine which Coach Pritchard talks about all the time. A lot of times I saw myself wanting to hit the primary, working through progressions maybe getting off one or two quicker than I would have my freshman year or high school days. So in terms of knowing what my answers are, that's kind of what jumps out in terms of me throwing on the tape.”

Costello talked about the cohesion he’s trying to build with his pass catchers through camp. “It's awesome to have a group of wide receivers who understand what we're trying to do as a whole, entirely. We got together quite a bit after the first three days, sixth day, ninth day and so on in terms of talking about what we're seeing. It's really good for us knowing that our defense is anticipating a lot of the stuff that's coming, but it's forcing us to rely on our technique to get through the progression rather than maybe teetering with things maybe here and there to beat our defense we're just focusing on our role and our own answers for any coverage they throw at us.”

Stanford has an exceptionally deep list of options for Costello at every position, and he discussed a number of the playmakers at the offense’s disposal. “Across the board, starting with JJ. We've seen a lot of what JJ can do and we're still trying to grow in a lot of areas together. Us working on certain techniques and certain things that we thought we could have hit last year. And then rolling down to Trent (Irwin), Mr. Reliable, always asking to get extra reps, always knowing where he his is definitely awesome and then Connor Wedington who showed flashes of greatness last year, looking to sort of adapt into his own role this year and then of course Kaden (Smith) being big out there, playing a little more out on the perimeter. Scooter's down a great job progressing, using that big body of his. Colby Parkinson's running great down the field, pushing depth on his routes, really feeling himself in and out of breaks, and then young guys too, it's nice. Played a little with Fehoko, Simi, at the end of my high school days and then Mike (Wilson) is doing a great job as well so we're just all trying to come together and be more cohesive as a whole.”

When asked if haivng so many playmakers helps him as a quarterback move through his progressions with faith that he just has to find the right guy, Costello says “Absolutely. It definitely plays into your sub-conscious thinking for sure. You may get off one and two a little sooner knowing that three, four, and maybe five in the progression are solid. He's gonna make a play with the ball in his hands, catch the ball and do something special. So it helps as a quarterback being in a situation where you're comfortable getting all the way to the end of progressions and that's what I'm working on right now.”

There’s no way to know if teams are going to start out by challenging the passing game with eight or nine-man fronts or if Bryce Love’s presence will afford them good honest looks from the opposition from the jump and Costello talked about the overall approach to readying for opponents. “We're really going to pride ourselves and Coach Pritchard harps on it to take what the defense gives us. I really can't go in with any pre-conceived decisions. I've got to make un-emotional decisions across the board and that's one thing Coach Pritchard's been talking about: not forcing things, not wanting to make a play and not letting it happen. We're gonna prep week in and week out based on what we expect and we're always going to anticipate sudden change and go from there.”

Costello is a fiery player also known for his calm and cool head in the huddle, a balance he’s looking to maintain as he develops into a veteran performer. “In terms of simply reading plays and reading coverages I'm trying to calm my mind in terms of seeing what I need to see. But then again, I want to make sure I still come with that edge, come with that fire because I feel like that plays into my role and is contagious to my teammates and I feel like we've all got to feel that from week one and every week following.”

Stanford is working without fifth-year center Jesse Burkett, but at the moment Costello is pleased with the players stepping up in Burket’s absence. “They're (Drew Dalman and Brian Chaffin) both doing really well. The center position is a lot like the quarterback position in this offense. they're the commander of the ship with the troops up front and a lot of times with Jesse, Jesse did a phenomenal job of allowing a young me to come in and feel confident with whom we were working to in protections. You know, Drew's doing a phenomenal job and Chaffin knows his answers inside and out, he's been in this program for a long time and Dylan Powell, obviously he's been hurt a bit but he's been doing really well as well. I think it's good. It's a really good opportunity for competition. At the end of the day we're going to need to produce and the next guy's going to have to step up if need be.”

Much was made of Costello using a golf club and a row of golf balls to sharpen roommate Kaden Smith’s reactions in a video released by the program, and Costello laughs when pondering that “drill’s” effect on Smith’s game. “I saw Davis throw him a nice back shoulder and him go up today so he's tracking the ball and we're just continuing to try to get better,” he says.

Nearly every player since Pac-12 Media Day has talked about finishing and really using this year as a response to a 2017 where the Cardinal lost four games by three points or less. For Costello, now is the time when the team builds the fortitude to turn those tough losses into big wins this year. “I think training camp plays a very important role in that. We're out here on day 11, day 12, don't even know what day it is in terms of we're grinding, really putting our bodies in a tough situation and these are the times where we have to make those plays. I mean, this is a very similar feeling to how we felt during our last drive against TCU. Guys banged up going into the game. Very similar to how we felt in the Pac-12 Championship and it's on each individual collectively who played last year to know what it's going to feel like at that part of the season and know what it's going to take to drive through and actually finish and I think a lot of us have it in the back of our mind. We don't need to over-harp on it, over-emphasize but I think a lot of us are ready to finish when the opportunity presents.”

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R.J. Abeytia has been contributing to The Bootleg since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Abeytia and follow The Bootleg @TheBootleg for up to the moment Cardinal news and analysis.

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