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Mike Leach updates ongoing Mississippi State QB battle between K.J. Costello, Will Rogers
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Things haven’t gone well for Mississippi State over the last several weeks.
After a season that began with a great deal of promise, head coach Mike Leach is desperate to boost a flagging offense with a home date against Vanderbilt coming up on Nov. 7. How that will shape a very fluid situation at quarterback between grad transfer K.J. Costello and true freshman Will Rogers remains to be seen, though.
“I’d say (they’re) 50-50. That’s what they were last weekend, too,” Leach said on Monday, according to 247Sports.
Costello stormed out of the gates this season, throwing for an SEC-record 623 yards in a win at LSU on Sept. 26 as Leach’s Air Raid offense appeared as if it would take hold.
But things have shifted dramatically during a 4-game losing streak, including Costello throwing 3 interceptions against Arkansas on Oct. 3 and being benched during the Bulldogs’ 24-2 loss to Kentucky the following week, then being benched again in favor of Rogers against Texas A&M on Oct. 17. He was then forced to exit against Alabama on Saturday after sustaining a head injury in the 2nd quarter of the Bulldogs’ 41-0 loss. Meanwhile, Rogers was 24-of-37 for 147 yards while tossing 2 interceptions in relief.
As for the status of Costello, Leach didn’t have an update, according to 247Sports.
“We’ll monitor it through the week,” he said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
