Florida State added new quarterback transfer Thomas Castellanos to its offense, who was formerly at UCF and Boston College. He had given the Seminoles fits during the 2023 and 2024 seasons where he gave head football coach Mike Norvell plenty of gray hairs.
Castellanos is a polarizing player who gave Seminole fans anxiety attacks in 2023 en route to an undefeated regular season. I get the fact that the former Boston College Eagle made headlines in the wrong fashion as first-year head football coach Bill O'Brien was not happy that Castellanos entered the transfer portal before the season ended after he was benched.
Nonetheless, he is a dynamic weapon that the new offensive coordinator. Gus Malzahn can trust in his offensive scheme after having him during his freshman year at UCF.
I really wish Thomas Castellanos had chosen FSU out of high school. Coming from Waycross, GA right up the road—and learning behind a developing Jordan Travis, he would’ve been a perfect fit. Better late than never. 🔥🍢
— Nole’n with Nile (@Nile_law99) January 31, 2025
Former Florida State defensive tackle Nile Lawrence-Stample made a valid thought on social media, saying that he wished Castellanos had chosen the Seminoles out of high school instead of committing to UCF.
I get the thought process of Castellanos wanting to pledge to the Knights since they wanted to be a quarterback out of high school. However, the Seminoles recruited him to be a running back along with former Class of 2022 three-star rusher Rodney Hill (who is at Arkansas).
During his senior year at Ware County High School in Waycross, Castellanos completed 177 of his 275 passes for 2,613 passing yards and 25 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. He also accumulated 968 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Hats off to Castellanos for chasing his lifelong dreams and aspirations of being a collegiate signal-caller. However, head football coach Mike Norvell has struggled with developing quarterbacks other than super star Jordan Travis during his tenure with the Seminoles.
It remains to be seen if Castellanos came to Florida State originally, would learning under Jordan Travis benefitted him? This is virtually a hypothetical.
I will say that Travis developed so much as a passer, especially during the 2023 season, when he was one of the best quarterbacks in the country. However, his dual-threat ability allowed him to stand out.
Throughout the history of quarterbacks in the Norvell, it is difficult to find many dual-threat options that were in Tallahassee. I truly believe that if Castellanos had come to Florida State, I don't think that he would have stuck with running back and would've eventually moved to quarterback.
I get Castellanos's decision to choose his desire to be a signal-caller. Nonetheless, I am so excited for him to be in Tallahassee and ball out during the 2025 season.