MSU’S Hill selected to Walker watch list
Kylin Hill keeps building momentum toward the 2020 football season.
More preseason honors have rolled in for Mississippi State’s senior running back this week.
For the second consecutive season, Hill was chosen to the Doak Walker Award watch list on Wednesday. The award goes to the best running back in the nation.
The Doak Walker recognition comes on the heels of Hill being chosen third among the top 10 players in the Southeastern Conference by Barrett Sillee of Cbssports.com.
Hill was chosen preseason first team Allsoutheastern Conference and All-american by Phil Steele on Tuesday.
After rushing for a league best 1,350 yards as a junior with the Bulldogs, the Columbus native is expected to be a huge weapon in the Air Raid offense of new head coach Mike Leach.
“I’m excited that he’s here,” Leach said about Hill in February. “He’s a dynamic player and he seems to be having a great offseason, so I’m excited about the opportunity to work with him, and I’m looking forward to getting to know him better too.”
Hill had an Sec-best eight 100-yard rushing games last season and scored 10 touchdowns. He was one of eight running backs in Power 5 conferences to rush for over 1,300 yards and score 10 touchdowns.
With those numbers, Hill was chosen first team ALL-SEC by The Associated Press and won the Conerly Trophy, which is given to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi.
MSU’S Costello, others make Steele’s ALL-SEC
KJ Costello has made an impression on the SEC before even taking a snap as the quarterback for the Bulldogs.
The transfer from Stanford was chosen to the Phil Steele Preseason ALL-SEC fourth team on Tuesday.
During his days as the Washington State head coach, Leach saw Costello play and jumped at the chance to sign him in February.
“He was looking for a place where he got the chance to throw the ball more, so we feel fortunate to have him,” Leach said in February. “The dialogue kind of happened naturally. We already knew a bunch of the same people, including his head football coach who I thought was a great coach, and so, it went. It was a good deal, and we’re thrilled to have him.”
Costello piled up some impressive numbers during his career at Stanford. The two-time captain for the Cardinal started 25 games over the course of three seasons. He went 495-of-791 passing for 6,151 yards and 49 touchdowns in three years at Stanford.
Even though injuries allowed Costello to play only five games in 2019, he still threw for 1,038 yards with six touchdowns. In the prior season, Costello earned second team Allpac-12 recognition after passing for 3,540 yards in 13 starts for the Cardinal. The passing yards were the second-highest singleseason total in Stanford history.
Along with Hill’s first team selection, linebacker Erroll Thompson was on the second team and safety C.J. Morgan joined Costello on Steele’s fourth team.