One of the biggest questions I had going into the 2024 season was the team leadership. We knew FSU lost a ton of leadership and experience from the 2023 team that went undefeated in the regular season and won the ACC.
That team had many players who decided to return from the 2022 team that won 10 games. The 2024 team had a new quarterback who seemed meek and more of a go-with-the-flow type of guy, in DJ Uiagalelei.
However, in hindsight, that wasn’t the type of personality needed for last year’s team. Uiagalelei didn’t play well, and guys didn’t respect anything he said once things started going south.
FSU’s starting quarterback in 2025, Thomas Castellanos, captured respect from his teammates after how he performed in spring, summer, and fall camp. That’s going to make a huge difference in how FSU plays in 2025, and why it’s a big deal that Castellanos was chosen to break the rock to signal the end of fall camp.
The embodiment of leadership every single day @Tommy_casto come break this rock!#NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/Sjx8hzn5b0
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) August 23, 2025
The quarterback is usually the leader of the team by default, and team’s usually take on the personality of that player. Think about how the FSU teams morphed and changed as Jordan Travis became the player he became. They adopted his mentality: play smart, hard, and respond to adversity.
Thomas Castellanos has a similar type of mentality, but probably displays his passion more outwardly than Travis. We don't know how he'll respond to adversity, but Mike Norvell has provided examples of him responding to adversity in practice.
That trait is one of the biggest unanswered questions I have going into the season. However, seeing the coaches choose Castellanos to break the rock provides confidence that FSU will have much better player leadership than last year.