One of the biggest recruiting announcements Stanford has seen in quite some time is fast approaching. K.J. Costello's commitment ceremony will begin around 2:45 - 3:00 p.m. today, and the decision is actually expected to come down at maybe 3:15-3:30. (Apparently there will be several speakers at the ceremony.)
Here's a decision primer of sorts, reviewing some of the various interviews K.J. has conducted/the major Stanford events in his recruiting timeline.
(FYI: Last I chatted with K.J.'s family, which was mid-Weds. afternoon, they were still working on the possibility of an ESPN stream. I was not able to reach his father on Weds. night for an update, so I'm not sure what the streaming plan will be, if there is any. If anyone spots a link to a stream on Twitter/elsewhere, please feel free to post on the board. And I will try to follow up with K.J.'s camp before the announcement as well.)
First and foremost: his junior year highlights
-On to the 30 second or so breakdown of (my reporting/understanding) of K.J.'s recruitment: Stanford was in a good spot during the fall, at some point it tightened up/he became torn between Stan/USC throughout the winter, and the Cardinal has pulled back ahead within the past few weeks. In about the second week of March I heard from a source (and mentioned in KJ thread). So, while things could always change, that's what I'll go with tonight as the announcement nears.
We'll obviously have a ton of content to follow the announcement if K.J. picks Stanford, but a short note on the historical perspective : He would be the third highest-ranked player in the 15-year history of the Rivals rankings to commit to Stanford. Only Kyle Murphy and Trent Edwards were ranked higher. (Andrus Peat and Aziz Shittu might have been at the time of their commitments and dropped a bit late in the cycle, but I don't recall that with certainty.)
Now, onto some of the various notable moments in K.J.'s recruitment:
-K.J. emerged on Stanford's radar after he impressed at their camp after his freshman year of high school. That was the same camp where Josh Rosen and Brady White worked out after their sophomore years. (Five-star Jacob Eason and four-star Messiah deWeaver also represented the 2016 class.) I ran into K.J. and his father after the camp concluded (I kind of knew he was, but not really) and chatted for a few minutes about the recruiting process, which led to the first of many "2016 (Stanford Target) Introduction" articles. Here's a link. (The interview was conducted over email - and this was back when he was listed as "Kevin" in the Rivals database.)
-The next notable development in Stanford's recruitment of K.J. came during the spring of his sophomore year. A few months after he told Rivals that Stanford was an early frontrunner, Costello took his second trip to Stanford to participate in the Cardinal's Junior Day, as well as the Northern California Rivals Camp.
Although he was an underclassmen competing against players a year ahead of him, Costello won the QB MVP of the NorCal Rivals Camp. Here's my conversation with K.J. from the camp recapping his Junior Day trip to The Farm.
-K.J. really blew up as a recruit during the spring. He picked up offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Tennessee, UCLA, Cal and Michigan. But Stanford, as is its quarterback recruiting policy, wanted to watch K.J. throw at camp again before extending an offer.
He was forced to miss the June camp (he was on a tour of several SEC schools at that time), but made it to campus in late July for the Saturday Night Lights camp. And he was really, really impressive. He was much better than even a few months earlier, when he put forth the MVP performance at the Rivals Camp. Specifically, he had the best showing on deep balls I've seen at a Stanford Camp. Just terrific accuracy, touch and arm strength on deep throws.
Stanford didn't offer immediately following the camp, but the Cardinal didn't wait too long - they offered about two weeks later. Here's what K.J. had to say after receiving the Stanford offer.
Maybe 10 days prior, he picked up an offer from USC, his childhood favorite and mother's alma mater. Before too long, it became clear that this was going to be a Trojan/Cardinal battle.
-K.J. had a very solid junior season that reflected the improvements he made to his game since his sophomore campaign. He improved his numbers across the board - td/int ratio, completion percentage, and so on. Here's our article from early in his junior year discussing some of his on-field progress.
-Then began a several month stretch where an announcement seemed imminent. K.J. initially intended to make a decision shortly after the conclusion of his high school season, but things kept getting pushed back and pushed back. post-trip comments.
He also made it back up to USC for another visit, in early March for a spring practice. By then, it became clear that his decision would come down to Stanford or USC. Michigan made a run at Costello after Jim Harbaugh was hired, but the Wolverines' threat didn't last long. While they were technically in his top three (and will probably have a hat on the table for his announcement), I don't believe they have been a serious contender for a few months.
(A week before visiting USC, on that first weekend in March, Costello dazzled at a 7-on-7 tournament, earning lofty praise from the Rivals.com analyst team.)
And so we arrive at today, with K.J.'s decision about 12 hours out, concluding a recruiting process that has lasted about 21 months with Stanford. For many reasons, this is one of the most important single recruiting announcements involving the Cardinal in the last few years. Given the position he plays, the need at that position, his ability, his connections with other top recruits, and so on, it's just a critical announcement and a key moment for the Cardinal football program.
This post was edited on 3/26 4:18 AM by Andy Drukarev
Here's a decision primer of sorts, reviewing some of the various interviews K.J. has conducted/the major Stanford events in his recruiting timeline.
(FYI: Last I chatted with K.J.'s family, which was mid-Weds. afternoon, they were still working on the possibility of an ESPN stream. I was not able to reach his father on Weds. night for an update, so I'm not sure what the streaming plan will be, if there is any. If anyone spots a link to a stream on Twitter/elsewhere, please feel free to post on the board. And I will try to follow up with K.J.'s camp before the announcement as well.)
First and foremost: his junior year highlights
-On to the 30 second or so breakdown of (my reporting/understanding) of K.J.'s recruitment: Stanford was in a good spot during the fall, at some point it tightened up/he became torn between Stan/USC throughout the winter, and the Cardinal has pulled back ahead within the past few weeks. In about the second week of March I heard from a source (and mentioned in KJ thread). So, while things could always change, that's what I'll go with tonight as the announcement nears.
We'll obviously have a ton of content to follow the announcement if K.J. picks Stanford, but a short note on the historical perspective : He would be the third highest-ranked player in the 15-year history of the Rivals rankings to commit to Stanford. Only Kyle Murphy and Trent Edwards were ranked higher. (Andrus Peat and Aziz Shittu might have been at the time of their commitments and dropped a bit late in the cycle, but I don't recall that with certainty.)
Now, onto some of the various notable moments in K.J.'s recruitment:
-K.J. emerged on Stanford's radar after he impressed at their camp after his freshman year of high school. That was the same camp where Josh Rosen and Brady White worked out after their sophomore years. (Five-star Jacob Eason and four-star Messiah deWeaver also represented the 2016 class.) I ran into K.J. and his father after the camp concluded (I kind of knew he was, but not really) and chatted for a few minutes about the recruiting process, which led to the first of many "2016 (Stanford Target) Introduction" articles. Here's a link. (The interview was conducted over email - and this was back when he was listed as "Kevin" in the Rivals database.)
-The next notable development in Stanford's recruitment of K.J. came during the spring of his sophomore year. A few months after he told Rivals that Stanford was an early frontrunner, Costello took his second trip to Stanford to participate in the Cardinal's Junior Day, as well as the Northern California Rivals Camp.
Although he was an underclassmen competing against players a year ahead of him, Costello won the QB MVP of the NorCal Rivals Camp. Here's my conversation with K.J. from the camp recapping his Junior Day trip to The Farm.
-K.J. really blew up as a recruit during the spring. He picked up offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Tennessee, UCLA, Cal and Michigan. But Stanford, as is its quarterback recruiting policy, wanted to watch K.J. throw at camp again before extending an offer.
He was forced to miss the June camp (he was on a tour of several SEC schools at that time), but made it to campus in late July for the Saturday Night Lights camp. And he was really, really impressive. He was much better than even a few months earlier, when he put forth the MVP performance at the Rivals Camp. Specifically, he had the best showing on deep balls I've seen at a Stanford Camp. Just terrific accuracy, touch and arm strength on deep throws.
Stanford didn't offer immediately following the camp, but the Cardinal didn't wait too long - they offered about two weeks later. Here's what K.J. had to say after receiving the Stanford offer.
Maybe 10 days prior, he picked up an offer from USC, his childhood favorite and mother's alma mater. Before too long, it became clear that this was going to be a Trojan/Cardinal battle.
-K.J. had a very solid junior season that reflected the improvements he made to his game since his sophomore campaign. He improved his numbers across the board - td/int ratio, completion percentage, and so on. Here's our article from early in his junior year discussing some of his on-field progress.
-Then began a several month stretch where an announcement seemed imminent. K.J. initially intended to make a decision shortly after the conclusion of his high school season, but things kept getting pushed back and pushed back. post-trip comments.
He also made it back up to USC for another visit, in early March for a spring practice. By then, it became clear that his decision would come down to Stanford or USC. Michigan made a run at Costello after Jim Harbaugh was hired, but the Wolverines' threat didn't last long. While they were technically in his top three (and will probably have a hat on the table for his announcement), I don't believe they have been a serious contender for a few months.
(A week before visiting USC, on that first weekend in March, Costello dazzled at a 7-on-7 tournament, earning lofty praise from the Rivals.com analyst team.)
And so we arrive at today, with K.J.'s decision about 12 hours out, concluding a recruiting process that has lasted about 21 months with Stanford. For many reasons, this is one of the most important single recruiting announcements involving the Cardinal in the last few years. Given the position he plays, the need at that position, his ability, his connections with other top recruits, and so on, it's just a critical announcement and a key moment for the Cardinal football program.
This post was edited on 3/26 4:18 AM by Andy Drukarev
