Home Football [Real] Keith Kostol Fields Questions

[Real] Keith Kostol Fields Questions

256

Kostol sounds like one of the coolest Beavers ever. In response to my interview request:

Hell, I’ll do an interview for you guys.  AB is always good for a laugh on a Sunday.

Let’s think of some good questions. He seemed candid on Reddit and ready to go.

Edit: originally I was going to send questions, but Keith is now answering in the comment section.

Merry Christmas, Beavos and Beavlettes.

256 COMMENTS

  1. I was gonna put this in the other thread as a reply to the OC talk, but then saw there was a new one. I’ll post it here so it can actually be seen…

    GA has said he wants an offense like what he ran the last two years at Utah State. Baldwin was actually the OC the first of those two years (with Chuckie Keeton as QB). Statistically, Keeton was on track for similar rushing/passing numbers both those years, but was injured for 6/11 games one year.

    I’d be interested to see what the differences were from 2011 under Baldwin to 2012 under Wells. How do those offenses compare to what they are running with McGiven as OC now?

    Does Baldwin prefer his CSU offense to the USU offense or is he just fitting a scheme to his players? Baldwin has had impressive offenses statistically everywhere he’s coached so he just might be adaptable.

    Baldwin left USU for CSU because of his strong relationship with Jim McElwain, so I could see him reuniting with Andersen now that he’s out of a job.

    Also, read through these posts. Doesn’t look like USU fans are too happy with McGiven. I can’t see GA going with a really inexperienced OC running an offense that isn’t of his design to call the shots at a Pac-12 program.

    USU fans are not enamored with McGiven.

    Still not enamored…

  2. Also, if you haven’t already, it might be a good idea to send a thank you email/tweet/whatever to Bobby D, Ed Ray and Mark Masari. They’ve responded to the heavy criticism we’ve been throwing at them for the past several years(deservedly). I know at least Masari reads his messages and usually responds to fans. I know the turnaround is far from complete, but I really like the momentum that’s building.

    For Kostol, I’m curious what his plans after football are. Also, can’t remember if he was around for the Katz/Mannion swap during the Wisconsin game. If he was there, I’d love to get his thoughts on that. Was Riley just batshit crazy during that time? Anything that led up to that? I’ve always been a little skeptical that there was some type of side deal to ensure Mannion would start as a frosh.

    • Not really sure about that one. I was pretty much under a rock until a little later in that season, then I started to become interested in the team dynamic and all that stuff.

    • Riley was like that all the time. It wasn’t an act, that’s just how he is. Of course during practice guys would get yelled at if they did something stupid, so it wasn’t like he didn’t correct us when we screwed up. He didn’t yell at people often, so if you were getting yelled at by Coach Riley it usually meant that you done goofed big time. When he yells, everyone listens no matter what.

      Also, a lot of the other guys noticed the clock management stuff. Not really sure why he did it that way…

  3. I’d ask him what the mood of his teammates were throughout the season.

    Were they still motivated with the losses mounting?
    What the hell was going on with the place kickers? Could he have subbed in if both were suspended?
    Was Read just special teams or did he contribute in other areas?
    What seems to be the primary reason for guys picking OSU? The school or the coaches?
    Wildest recruiting story?
    What does he hear the culture is like at other schools?

    • The general feeling was that we were not playing the way we knew we could. So we weren’t thinking “oh man, we are playing bad right now”, it was “wow, we could have won that game and we screwed it up.” Every game felt like we could have won it going in.

      1. We were still motivated after all those losses, because we knew we were better than how we played during those losses, but after losing to UW we did lose a little bit of that.

      2. The story of the placekickers could have its own thread, maybe I’ll talk more in depth about it later. But I would not have kicked, Ian Crist would have. He had recently transferred from Portland State.

      3. Coach Read just did special teams.

      4. I think most guys picked OSU because of the “family atmosphere”. Its a little hard to explain because a lot of other schools say they have a “family atmosphere”, but OSU was different from what I heard (I did not visit other schools).

      5. Well, I wasn’t recruited so I don’t have a story there. I have hosted recruits before though. I’ll leave that one at “no comment.”

      6. I have heard that the culture is a lot more business like. You show up, do your work, then leave. I’ve heard at SC for example that no one hangs out and talks to the S&C guys, and when your lift is over you are expected to get out of the weight room. I’m not sure how it is now at SC with Sarkesian (sic) but I heard before that it was pretty unfriendly.

  4. ask: what did you and your teammates think of Riley keeping to himself on the sideline away from the end where the action was? What was behind the funk in the UW game last year?

    • There was some tension between some of the coaches. Cav and Garrett were always bitching at each other, both blaming each other when things didn’t work out. Riley just didn’t want to be a part of it so he let things sort out on their own.

    • I don’t think he wanted to be by all those people. I was usually over there by him when the defense was out on the field because I didn’t want to be with the crowd.

      If you are asking about the 2013 UW game, idk. That was easily the worst loss I had every been a part of in any sport. Every phase of the game was terrible, and I don’t know why. The whole team left that game with a bad taste in our mouths.

  5. Why did Kostol go see a Punting Coach in AZ ? Read was paid to Coach you up. Did he ?
    Are the remaining Specialist better off without Read and Company…
    Are you excited with this Coaching change ?

    • You take any opportunity you can get to improve and I love AZ
      Coach Read is the man. Best specialist in the country. He was limited by what he was allowed to do by Coach Riley though. Read wanted to pull out the fake punt in situations, but Coach Riley wasn’t a fan of the risk involved. I would have loved play with a little more trickery. Keeps the game interesting.
      I think the change will be a good thing for both OSU and Coach Riley. I really think he’s going to find success at Nebraska.

    • Zauner is a dedicated punting coach, and has a good record of coaching NFL punters so that’s why I went. I usually just ignored what coach Read had to say about my punting form. Its such an individual thing anyway. He provided some higher level coaching, and would say “you changed X since the beginning of the season, whats up with that?” and that was actually really helpful.

      I think the remaining specialists will be about the same.

      I am excited about the coaching change. Its something exciting for the fan base and will create a lot of interest in the program. Andersen looks like a solid hire.

  6. Keith,

    Through what we see from games and the media reports, it seemed Riley had lost that fire and the ability to inspire his players. Did you notice any change in Riley’s demeanor? Is he just not “that” type of guy. And did it affect the way the team played?

    • Coach was always the same guy the time I spent on the team. I’ve seen older video of him watching game film and he looked like a different guy back before my time. Stood up straighter, had more fire. I always say, the team takes on the identity of their coach. Take from that what you will…

      • Villamin tweeted something along the same lines. It seemed apparent to everyone in here that Riley looked less energetic. Any ideas why media wanted to protect Riley? Was just because he treated the media so well?

    • Idk, its hard to say. I’d agree that he did look a little less energetic the last few years, but he would still get after you if you messed up in practice. I’d say that he was never really that “type” of guy anyway.

      Although, before the 2013 civil war he gave the best pregame speech I have ever heard. No joke. We walked into that stadium like we owned it, we were going to win no matter what. Thats what it felt like.

    • The bounce house? We don’t really see it as players because we run out of it and there’s smoke everywhere. It’s a total rush to run onto the field, every time. Not sure whose idea it was to play that Christian Rock crap, but let’s just say we don’t have many Christian Rock fans on the team. If it gets the crowd pumped up, we’re all for it, but that song didn’t get the players or the crowed amped. Almost had the opposite effect

  7. My question ideas:

    * Battle Royale between Riley and the assistant coaches (graduate assistants excluded!) Who wins and why?

    * Which opposing team/school does everyone hate the most? (Ducks don’t count for this one – I think the fans hate them more than the players do anyway)

    * What’s the best thing about being on the football team that none of us would guess?

    * Your life depends on either Riley using his timeouts efficiently or Banker holding the quacks under 30. How much life insurance do you buy?

    * Do you get the Aaron Rodgers one, or the Snoopy one?

    * What’s the best nickname given to someone on the team?

    * Favorite campus hangout?

    • Dang, you’re making me work here…..

      1. I think Cav. He’s a tough mother and would be hard to move
      2. UW-Fucking hate the Huskies and their asshole fans. USC fans blow too (Stanford fans are pretty cool actually)
      3. Best thing that you wouldnt guess???…….getting to fly around and see places you’ve never been to before. Hawaii was a blast both times.
      4. That’s just not fair…..pass
      5. I like a good discount double check
      6. Ryan Murphy was Murphy’s Oil, because he slipped up so often
      7. I liked Dixon. Always fun to dunk on fools

    • 1. Our D-Line coach is easily the strongest coach, so I’d go with him.

      2. Probably UW

      3. The amount of free socks you get.

      4. I’m sure student health would cover it

      5. Can’t say no to a-a-ron

      6. Probably “Turtle”, for one of our reserve OL guys.

      7. Dearborn 115 computer lab. The Linux lab, so its usually not full because many people don’t like linux

  8. What’s the team think of Gary Andersen?

    Was the *mood* (mindset?) of the team different going into the ASU game vs the UW game (or vs. Oregon for that matter)? Do you think being at home and getting of to a great start vs ASU helped the team believe they could win or was something else at play there?

    • ASU just wasn’t very good tbh. Kelly didn’t have his wheels in that game and the defense was able to contain him. UW punched us in the mouth and it snowballed. We actually went into the Oregon game with the mentality of “leave it all on the turf” but our guys couldn’t get open and we really missed TDub

    • He was announced as HC near the end of finals week so everyone was either gone or not around the facilities. From everyone that I talked to, they are pretty excited about him.

      The mindset seemed about the same going into the ASU game, I just felt like we executed better that game.

  9. Why didn’t this years team ever find its identity? Where did you guys look? Was no stone left unturned? What is the real meaning of the Banker hand jive?

    In all seriousness, has he met the new coaching staff yet and if so what are his first impressions?

  10. Keith, thanks for doing this.

    My question, when guys come on a recruiting trip to Corvallis, is there talk about the town not being big enough, not having enough stuff to do, things like that? Or do the guys generally like Corvallis? Are there complains about the facilities? Basically, do you think Corvallis is difficult to recruit to? Do the guys from Texas/California/Florida like Corvallis, or do they think it’s too small?

    I know I loved it, but I’m from Oregon, and I’m guessing the local kids like you feel the same, but I’ve always been curious what outsiders might have thought.

    Good luck, get that degree!

    • my pleasure, got nothing better to do
      It’s all about the parties. There’s plenty to do when there are 18,000+ 20 year olds running around. Like i said, it’s quiet in the summer, but still plenty to do. we liked swimming in the rivers or just bullshitting around playing 360. Corvallis is a great town. sure it’s little, but most guys are coming from concrete jungles and like the change of pace. plus, the weather during fall camp is perfect for football. the weather is great for all of ball season. it only starts raining really towards that last couple games.
      Focused on that degree man…thanks!

      • Bigger cities are not far away. During the summer, why wouldn’t guys leave campus and go spend a weekend in Portland or Eugene (you guys must know players on the ducks to crash with?). Or work on your craft like you said…the quite, down time is good for that, too, but if someone wanted more social life I never understood why they wouldn’t just get in their car and visit the city.

        • Some guys do actually. But you can really only get away a couple of times per year. One guy got in trouble for going to Vegas for a weekend during the offseason, so that stuff happens. Its just not all that accessible.

    • Yeah, Corvallis is a small town that isn’t all that close to a big city. I think if OSU was just outside the suburbs of Portland it would help a lot. Many guys like Corvallis but obviously they would want easy access to a larger city. The weather doesn’t help either.

  11. Gotta run. I might follow up later if there are more questions. keep ’em coming. I love the angrybeavs. Let me know if you want to hear from any other players and I’ll see who I can get
    happy holidays

    • 1. One of my questions was whether you know of any other guys who read the site?

      2. Did any players talk about it and agree with our sentiment here that Riley was holding the team back?

      3. Did you hear about any change in Riley over the years? I thought after the 2009 Civil War he changed. You weren’t around then, but did any players who you know who were on that team mention he changed after that game?

      4. Did you notice any change in Riley after he signed that long-term contract extension? Did he stop working as hard, were there any signs that the contract killed his motivation? The contract extension was 2010. I’m not sure if you were around the team yet at that point. If not, did you hear from anyone that he changed and lost motivation after that contract extension?

      5. Did benching Katz/Vaz over Mannion create rifts?

      6. Was he actually a nice guy? When then Brenda Tracy story broke we all questioned the “nice guy” narrative. Then he claimed family atmosphere yet bailed on the team on a whim to go to Nebraska (we were all happy about that here, but doesn’t seem like something a nice guy would do).

      • 1. Don’t know of any people who read the site, but I think they search their names and AB would pop up. Thats about it I think.

        2. I don’t think so, we felt like we weren’t executing well, not that Coach was holding us back. Yeah, sometimes we questioned the playcalling, but thats not why we lost games.

        3. I don’t think Riley changed, but I heard the culture of the players changed. The older guys my freshman year ran the team. They were scary, like Dylan Wynn. But I didn’t feel that recently.

        4. I got to OSU in 2010, so don’t think I can comment.

        5. Again, this was really early in my career, but everyone believed in Mannion. They did feel bad for Katz, but I think they understood.

        6. Yeah, I think he actually is. I don’t know much about the Brenda Tracy story, so I’m not sure what that has to do with it. He did make a family atmosphere, and it was pressure from the outside that caused him to bail on OSU (i think). I don’t think its fair to ding Riley for leaving when the students were calling for him to be fired during the games, and obviously you guys were disgruntled as well.

  12. Merry Christmas fellow Beavos! Our Beaver cups, they runneth over!

    And a big hairy fuck you to the Ducks and Duck fans everywhere! May you all choke on a turkey bone. My hatred for all things green and yellow had never been more pure. Go ‘Noles.

    GWH

  13. Get Trevor, he is a free spirt and would be fun to get his take …Merry Xmas and good luck in your future plans.

    Love the orange shorts and white tights …

      • Hekker always had a monster boot. He just had accuracy issues.

        In addition, he’s getting to show off his high school QB arm in a lot of trick plays, and doing really well in those situations. So he’s getting extra credit for that.

        • Hekker is also not forced to rugby style it now.
          Also loved his participation in beaver w/o borders so I’m willing to look at the big picture “love of your fellow man” kinda thing before I crucify a guy for the rest of his life because he frustrated us beaver fans more often than we expected.
          I’m short, the world could use a shitload more Johnnie Hekkers.

          • Jason, you are spot on. I knew Hekker in college and would absolutely agree that he was a solid guy. Was very genuine, treated people with respect, and all around good guy. I felt this way about a bunch of players that I knew from my time there but Hekker above the others. I was always bummed to see things not going well for him at OSU. Glad its working out in the NFL.

    • Johnny got really good after he left OSU. He had a pretty good senior season, then trained his ass of the entire winter to get better. Then once he was in the NFL, he still worked really hard. So he really willed himself to get better.

      • Ryan Allen ended up being pretty good also! Did you ever hear much about his brief experience at OSU? The staff must have seen some of his talent.

  14. Here’s a question for you…how in the fuck do we get more delay of game and procedure penalties than anyone on the league and still have one of the most “respected coaches” in the NCAA?

    So sick of the “I’ve got all day” style of offense.

    I especially loved the pass plays that took 37 seconds to develop.

    And of hearing about how Riley’s system was so complex. And advanced.

    So is vector calculus. But I don’t rely on it to win football games.

    Good luck Nebraska.

  15. Hey, don’t have time to chat right now but wanted to let you all know I texted Trev and he sounds interested in “chatting with the peanut gallery” LOL. I sent him the link to this forum and he said he’ll check in some time in the next week.

  16. What’s the difference between computer engineering and computer science?

    Oh and thanks for answering some questions. It’s a real treat to hear from a player.

  17. Enjoy your loved ones…got a bro in law in town who has gone from full normal life three weeks ago to just damn near life support tonight due to a rare neurological disease.

    Life is fucking crazy, but I enjoy the brotherhood here to keep my sanity.

    • Dude, been there. You assholes helped pull me through a pretty rough patch and you didn’t even know it. You bust balls no matter what. Step outta line in here and you’re shat upon for a week, wouldn’t have it any other way.
      Your bro-in-law just won the life can be fucked prize. Like you said, appreciate every good second you can because things can turn to shit in a hurry, and even if they don’t, there’s always someone worse off than you who’d love to be in your shoes so stfu with the complaining.
      I hope he’s not in too much pain. Any long term prognosis?

      • thanks for the kind words–not to hijack a thread…but put it this way, we are all diagnosed with a 100% fatal prognosis–his just might be sooner than later.

    • Sounds like you have your head on straight, good. Stay strong, stay real for those around you. One day at a time.
      I, too, empathize with you.

  18. The Keith Kostol in this thread is fake. The real one just contacted me to say he already found himself answering questions.

    Hilarious.

    The fake KK did a good job, I must say.

      • Merry Xmas to all! Lol. I was so looking forward to easing Romaine into the mix after Christmas.

        I thought for sure you all would have figured me out, but then Angry verified my email and IP somehow, and I took that as a sign I needed to run wih it. I think I had everybody going except maybe jack. Apologies to the real Keith, if that’s really who he is….

  19. Kool Keith, thanks for the insights mang. Awesome you came and did this. As I’m sure you can tell we really appreciate it. Are you going to try and do this thing professionally in some capacity, or you hanging up the cleats to finish up the degree and move on with life? Whatever path you choose thanks for your hard work and dedication to beaver nation, and best of luck.

    And to the rest of you degenerates, Merry Christmas ya Filthy Animals.

  20. Convincing KK representation, BB :) I admit I had my eyebrow raised when you referenced whiskey, but hey, stranger things have happened…

    Looking forward to real KK’s answers!

  21. KK- how big a brick did you shit with that first punt of the Wisconsin game? You recovered nicely and had a great beaver career. Loved that you stayed in state and was the only Oregon native starting for our team for many games throughout your career.

  22. BeavBlazer, you da man. Are you also responsible for the Sony thing? If so you owe a big apology to the current dwarf running N Korea.

    Merry Xmas to all Angrybeavs.

  23. Merry X-Mas from Australia….keeping up with some of the news but basically getting away from it all. Home for the major bowls on the 1st.

    Happy New Year to to all AB’s, it’s always entertaining. JB

  24. I like the idea of hiring Beau Baldwin as OC. He is in a unique career situation where it feels like the timing would be perfect for this move. He has stated he would not turn his back on Pac-12 opportunities but as HC his chances right now to be HC in a western P5 conference are very slim and will most likely remain that way for several years. He could have tried to get interest from a MWC program but he seemed less interested in that and there wasn’t too much interest in him when quality coordinators from major conferences were available. That route still would take atleast a few years of success to then land a P5 head coach job and the spots are essentially all filled now anyway.

    However as a coordinator in THE major conference he has stated he would be interested in, he would be quickly priming his resume for a future HC possibility. If you aren’t a HC in a P5 conference by the time you are 50-52 anymore there are pretty good odds it won’t happen for you. Beau is on the clock and doesn’t necessarily have 3+ years to burn staying at EWU if this is his ultimate dream. I think he would be a very good OC at Oregon State and about the splashiest hire we could reasonably expect. It would be win-win. He could do it for 4 years and then opportunities will be there for him if Oregon State has had a quality and improving offense for multiple seasons. From that position he would be a viable candidate anywhere in the Pac-12. Stay at EWU and he only has a small chance at Wazzu if Leach struggles and is gone in 3-4 years.

    Oregon State is in position to make him a nice offer that would be a significant pay increase over his current position. The exposure of the Pac-12 is infinitely higher and he seems the type who would fit in well with what Andersen is building and wants to do at Oregon State. If Andersen interviews him I think he would find a qualified person who hits almost all the marks he is looking for in the next OC at OSU. He runs an offense like Andersen has stated he envisions and has proved he has coaching chops. The Pac-12 is the big stage and a proving grounds. Beau is at the right time to take this step, prove himself and then eventually have all his coaching dreams open to him. I hope he gets serious consideration as to me Andersen/Sitake/Beau Baldwin would be the ultimate Trifecta of splash hires for Oregon State.

  25. How do you think not having a dedicated special teams coach will impact OSU next season? It seems like most teams don’t use them, and on reddit it seemed like Riley vetoed a lot of stuff Read would want to do anyway, so I figure we shouldn’t really expect too much of a change in performance. Thoughts?

    This might be tough to answer since you’ve never been on a team without a dedicated special teams but I’d still like your thoughts!

    Thanks for doing this and the reddit ama as well!

    • I have no idea, but I feel like that coach would be less reactive week to week than a dedicated coach. Coach Read would put in a different return scheme every week, and I think that would be a lot more difficult to do when you only moonlight as a ST coach. Of course, you are always limited by your head coach with regards to fakes and such.

  26. I see the title is now “Real Keith Kostal” fields questions …. But you told us a bit ago that the Keith Kostal giving answers is a fake, and the thread got labelled “Fake Keith Kostal …”

    So which is it?? Seems to me you should leave this one CORRECTLY labeled FAKE. … and start a new one for the real Kostal, if indeed he might post here. Trouble is, now no one is going to know if there is a real one or not, here. We might just label such bullshit as fun and games, but clearly we hope to affect higher thinking in the OSU athletic department, and that is not furthered by such nonsense as this Keith Kostal bullshit.

  27. KK! If you’re still around…

    Did Riley have food poisoning or something during Stanford this year? The TV camera kept showing him hunched over like he was ready to toss his cookies…. somewhat concerning.

    And what’s your favorite Linux distro? (did comp sci at osu, go EECS!)

    • Did you see how we were playing on the field that day? That’s why he looked like he was going to toss his cookies.

      Right now I’m using Linux Mint with the Mate desktop. I just wanted something light, and included all the proprietary software you need to actually use your computer. I took CS411 with McGrath in the spring and found out how badly the kernel was written, so I don’t want to muck around in there trying to get a custom distro. I’ll leave that to the clinically insane thank you very much.

      • That crossed my mind too, but I figured he’d respond with blank-faced gum-chewing realistically :)

        CS 411 is the best and worst! I took that when we were doing the NachOS thing, but easily one of the most time consuming classes. Good camaraderie, though. My group had a blind girl in it who could code pretty well. It was really amazing, and she ended up at Microsoft working on accessibility.

        I confess I’m mostly a Windows guy, but I use Mint and Ubuntu sometimes. I want to do something with Raspberry Pi once I can figure out an idea!

        BTW, if you are in engineering, you are already one of the insane! Don’t fight it…. >:]

  28. Here’s one for you…Mannion was lauded by the coaching staff and the media as a great leader. It didn’t really show on the field, at least to me. I never really saw guys rallying around/behind him.

    Was he really the leader that he was made out to be?

    • He’s not a vocal leader by any means, but during breaks he’s talking with the O-line and encouraging them, talking with receivers, ect. He’s not out there yelling and screaming to get guys excited, but he cares a lot, everyone on the team knows that he cares a lot, and that’s what really matters.

  29. Happy New Year Keith –

    So give us a little Trevor Cowbell…recollections and observations? Kid has/had a leg. Could of been/should of been.

    thx — interesting read!

    • Romaine not mature enough for NFL. Also, NFL kicker must hit deep end zone on kickoff 9 out of 10 times. NFL requires accuracy and leg strength because accurate only kickers are a dime a dozen.

  30. Kinda preferring we don’t go Dave Baldwin tomorrow. Too old and too pass heavy for my tastes. Would rather see us hire Beau Baldwin or McGiven. Apparently Utah has some interest in McGiven. I’d rather let them have the old guy and for Oregon State to have the fresher image with recruits and be the more in demand program for years to come. Going younger is better for program perception amongst recruits and will do more to enliven our new culture.

    • The case against Beau was made by angry when we were looking for a coach, I don’t see how that changes much when we are looking for a OC. I think that he should cut his teeth at a MWC school as a OC or HC before any PAC12 school should look at him.
      McGiven and Baldwin are both good choices, but if your complaint about Baldwin is that he is too pass heavy it would not surprise me if we end up with him over McGiven (of course someone we have not even heard or thought of is a possibility). Everything I have seen from GA has been a willingness to cater his offence and defense to the players on hand and everyone on our team was recruited for a system that relied upon the QB passing.

  31. Lots of wishful thinking and creative writing about GA offense. Follow the facts, or follow the trail of qbs and offensive coordinators at his previous stops to get clues. Best clue is probably tape from first Auburn vs Utah State game.

    • Yeah… that comment is just so out of the blue. And the ideas put forth are just so refreshing that everyone must lay down and let the magnificence wash over them until it is time for THE FUCKING THING YOU DREAMED EXISTED IS BOUGHT!!!!!!!!

      Wtf people?

      In no part should this be a disclaimer or a diversion to watching actual tape. But I must step in when space commando cult language creeps in. Yes… you know who you are, and if you want to discuss any of this… feel free.

      There was a lot of bad football played today.

      Yay!!

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