The Florida State football program has its problems. The Seminoles have lost four straight games after falling to Stanford in Week 8, and Mike Norvell is clearly on his last legs in Tallahassee. However, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s focus is on the health of his starting quarterback.
The Noles are on a bye in Week 9 before hosting Wake Forest in Week 10, and in his press conference, Malzahn told the media that his goal is to get Thomas Castellanos back healthy for the final five games of the regular season.
Malzahn says goal is to get Tommy Castellanos healed up this week (left game with injury) so he can play final five games of the season.
— Brendan Sonnone (@BSonnone) October 21, 2025
Castellanos was removed from the game in the fourth quarter on Saturday night after a late hit to the head when he was sliding after a scramble. Castellanos was replaced by true freshman Kevin Sperry, who finished 4/7 passing for 69 yards. Sperry has completed 12 of his 17 pass attempts this season for 194 yards and two touchdowns.
Gus Malzahn hoping Castellanos can salvage Florida State’s season
Castellanos began his career with Malzahn at UCF, and he’s always been the perfect fit for his run-heavy offense. This season, Castellanos has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,607 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions with 319 yards and five scores on the ground. Averaging 9.7 yards per attempt, he’s been one of the more efficient quarterbacks in the country, but FSU’s defense has routinely led his unit down.
Malzahn hasn’t shown much interest in taking another head coaching job in college football after parting ways with UCF to become the offensive coordinator in Tallahassee, and his reluctance could be part of the reason that the program has yet to fire Norvell and name him the interim head coach.
Still, it’s obvious that Norvell’s time at Florida State is going to reach its inevitable end soon, so Malzahn will likely be looking for another OC job this offseason. To get one, he may need to finish the year strong, and having Castellanos healthy is the best way to do that.
Florida State has a lot to clean up in the bye week, so waiting for Castellanos to get healthy shouldn’t be Malzahn’s only priority, but he’s right to state that it's the most important thing for the rest of Florida State’s season and his career prospects beyond this year.