STARKVILLE — Mike Leach isn’t naming a starting quarterback anytime soon.
Speaking with the media Tuesday for the first time since National Signing Day, Leach said the quarterback competition amongst Stanford graduate transfer K.J. Costello, sophomore Garrett Shrader and freshman Will Rogers — all of whom were repped in the Bulldogs’ first fall practice — could last until the week before the season opener against LSU on Sept. 26 given the lack of evaluation time he and his staff have had.
“I hope it doesn’t extend that far, but it could,” Leach said. “So we’re trying to roll them through … in these practices, get the best look that we can.”
Though things are early, Costello is expected to be the front-runner to take the reins under center when the Bulldogs open the season in Death Valley. Committing to MSU in February, Costello completed 495 of 791 passes for 6,151 yards and 49 touchdowns to just 18 interceptions over 28 career games at Stanford and is far and away the most experienced passer on the roster.
“I think that K.J.’s experience helps him some,” Leach said. “Everybody knows each other’s name and whatnot, but as far as K.J. being in tune with this guy goes here and that guy goes there, it’s been a little tough because we’ve repped a lot of receivers.”
While Costello presumably boasts the inside track to the starting role, Shrader earned avid hype during a freshman campaign in which he split time with Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens. The biggest knock on the Charlotte native has been his lacking accuracy — a weakness that led to his 57.5 percent completion rate a season ago.
Rogers is also an intriguing name worth watching throughout camp as he was previously recruited by Leach’s staff at Washington State and comes from the same Brandon High School program that bred one-time Cougar quarterback Gardner Minshew II.
“It’ll be more of a sudden decision than I would,” Leach conceded of how he’ll select his starter. “Because, you know, you’d like to see more body of work out of all of them.”
Heath’s availability remains clouded
Junior wide receiver Malik Heath did not practice Monday following his arrest last week, according to Leach. Heath was issued a slew of charges, including a DUI and was booked into the Winston-Choctaw County/Regional Correctional Facility before posting a $3,000 bond.
Leach said he had no update on Heath’s status with the team. “We’re still looking at it and getting all the facts,” he said.
A former Under Armour All-American during his prep days at Callaway High School in Jackson, Heath spent two years at Copiah-Lincoln Community College before joining MSU this year. During his time at Co-Lin, Heath corralled 61 catches for 835 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 games and was rated the No. 6 junior college player in the 2020 class according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings.
Other news and notes
While it remains to be seen who will start under center for Leach, the first-year head coach says the room is trending in the right direction.
Following Tuesday’s roster reveal, the Bulldogs will boast six quarterbacks this fall between Costello, Shrader, Rogers, sophomore Jalen Mayden, Vanderbilt transfer Allan Walters and previously unannounced addition Justin Stolberg from Louisiana Tech.
“I would like to have three (quarterbacks) that I feel real good about, and I think we’re headed there, and I think we do have a good mix of athleticism and guys that throw the ball pretty well,” Leach said. “The biggest thing is we’ve got to polish it all up; we’ve got to put it all together.”
Other transfer news included the additions of one-time Georgia Southern wide receiver Christian ‘Scoobie’ Ford and junior college imports running back Omni Wells (Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College), offensive lineman Ramble Johnson (Northwest Mississippi Community College) and wide receivers Bo Brooks (Copiah-Lincoln) and Carson Banks (Northeast Mississippi Community College).
Leach also noted Tuesday that junior cornerback Tyler Williams didn’t participate in practice and that he was unsure of where he was.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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