FSU football quarterback Thomas Castellanos has been in the headlines recently for comments he made about the upcoming Alabama game. He was asked about that and his time at Boston College during the ACC Kickoff event in Charlotte, North Carolina, this week.
Castellanos entered the transfer portal after playing in eight games at Boston College. Some folks believe he quit on that Boston College team, but Castellanos doesn't feel that way:
"Whatever [O'Brien] said or is out there -- 'he got benched' or 'he quit' -- that's not true," Castellanos told ESPN. "Only the people in that room know what went down, legally and personally, know the true story."
Castellanos got hurt during last season, but was asked to play much differently than under Boston College's previous head coach. It was apparent because Castellanos's numbers looked much different than the previous year. He made improvements as a passer, but his rushing numbers took a big time hit. There was speculation that the injury, combined with Castellanos and O'Brien butting heads, led to the change at QB.
O'Brien fired back when asked about Castellanos's comments:
"Tommy can think what he wants," O'Brien told ESPN on Thursday. "We supported the hell out of Tommy. We coached Tommy, we taught Tommy. I wish him the best. We went with Grayson. We told [Castellanos], 'The team needs you. Come back and compete and win your job back.' It's called life -- L-I-F-E. Deal with adversity. He's fine. He's the starting QB at Florida State. It worked out well. I wish him the best."
My Thoughts
However, he's insinuating he quit and never mentions the injury Castellanos suffered or anything. If they were already butting heads and O'Brien makes the change at quarterback, is he gonna give Castellanos a fair shot to win the job back? Probably not, and that's likely why Castellanos decided he'd enter the transfer portal. Was it the best look for Castellanos? No, but I get it. If a head coach will say stuff like this to the media, there's no telling what he was saying behind closed doors.
FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzhan will cater the offense to the strengths of Castellanos, which is something O'Brien refused, and we'll likely see a much more productive version at FSU in 2025.