Thomas Castellanos
{{Short description|American football player (born 2003)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college football player
| name = Thomas Castellanos
| image = Thomas Castellanos (53245892146) (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Castellanos with Boston College in 2023
| school = Florida State Seminoles
| pastschools = UCF (2022)
Boston College (2023–2024)
Florida State (2025–present)
| currentnumber = 1
| position = Quarterback
| class = Junior
| major =
| bowlgames =
- 2023 Fenway Bowl (Off. MVP){{cite tweet |user=FenwayBowl |number=1740463354093711463 |title=Your Wasabi Red Sox Bowl Offensive MVP, Thomas Castellanos! |date=December 28, 2023 |accessdate=December 28, 2023}}
| highschool = Ware County (GA)
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2003|8|26}}
| birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lb = 201
| highlights =
| espn = 4773919
}}
Thomas Castellanos (born August 26, 2003) is an American football quarterback for the Florida State Seminoles. He previously played for the Boston College Eagles and the UCF Knights.
Early life
Castellanos was born in Miami, Florida and grew up in Waycross, Georgia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4773919/thomas-castellanos|publisher=ESPN|title=Thomas Castellanos}} He was the eighth of 11 children in his family. His father died when he was 3, and Castellanos was raised by his mother, Yukia.{{cite news |last1=Hass |first1=Trevor |title=Fueled by memory of brother, Thomas Castellanos is starring at BC |url=https://www.boston.com/sports/college-sports/2023/10/27/fueled-by-memory-of-late-brother-thomas-castellanos-blossomed-into-star-boston-college-football/ |access-date=8 November 2024 |work=The Boston Globe |date=October 27, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Palmar |first1=Mauricio |title=Thomas Castellanos has blossomed into BC's next star quarterback |url=https://dailyorange.com/2024/11/thomas-castellanos-boston-college-quarterback/ |access-date=8 November 2024 |work=The Daily Orange |date=7 November 2024}}
Castellanos attended Ware County High School where he played football, basketball and track and field.{{Cite web|url=https://247sports.com/player/thomas-castellanos-46101870/|website=247Sports|title=Thomas Castellanos}} As a junior, he was named first-team all-state at quarterback while leading his team to a 10–2 record and throwing for 2,881 yards and 23 touchdowns, additionally rushing for 939 yards and 24 touchdowns.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution/131902086/|newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution|via=Newspapers.com|date=August 15, 2021|title=Thomas Castellanos, Ware County|page=C8}} {{Open access}} As a senior, he threw for 2,613 yards and 25 scores while adding 968 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.{{Cite news|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/quarterback-thomas-castellanos-biggest-threat-091956307.html|newspaper=Tallahassee Democrat|via=Yahoo!|title=Quarterback Thomas Castellanos biggest threat to FSU football in ACC opener at Boston College|date=September 14, 2023|author=Williams, Jack}} Castellanos totaled 7,710 passing yards and 3,681 rushing yards for Ware County, also playing defensive back in addition to quarterback.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/08/28/qbs-morehead-castellanos-give-bc-different-looks-in-season-opener/|newspaper=Boston Herald|title=QB's Morehead, Castellanos give BC different looks |date=August 28, 2023|author=Thompson, Rich}} He committed to play college football for the UCF Knights, choosing them over Florida State and Georgia.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/college/ucf/university-of-central-florida-football-recruiting/ucf-recruitment-castellanos|magazine=Sports Illustrated|title=UCF QB Commitment Thomas Castellanos Opens up About His Recruitment|last=Smith|first=Brian|date=December 14, 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://ucf.rivals.com/news/gus-gets-his-qb-thomas-castellanos-excited-about-ucf-commitment|website=Rivals.com|title=Gus gets his QB: Thomas Castellanos excited about UCF commitment|date=March 15, 2021|author=Helwig, Brandon}}
College career
=UCF=
==2022 season==
As a true freshman with the UCF Knights in 2022, Castellanos appeared in five games and completed 9-of-16 pass attempts for 75 yards. He entered the NCAA transfer portal after the season and ultimately transferred to Boston College, choosing them over Texas State.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/south-florida-sun-sentinel/131902575/|newspaper=Sun Sentinel|via=Newspapers.com|date=April 23, 2023|page=C5|title=QB Castellanos enters spring transfer portal|author=Beede, Jason}} {{Open access}}
=Boston College=
==2023 season==
Castellanos was named backup to Emmett Morehead to begin the 2023 season, but replaced him in the first half of the season opener against Northern Illinois. Entering the game with his team down 14–0, he helped them comeback before losing in overtime, leading them in passing and rushing while also being responsible for all three of their touchdowns.{{Cite web|url=https://floridastate.rivals.com/news/fsu-aware-of-bc-qb-thomas-castellanos-athleticism-after-recruiting-him|website=Rivals.com|title=FSU aware of BC QB Thomas Castellanos' athleticism after recruiting him|author=Weiler, Curt|date=September 12, 2023}} He was named the team's full-time starting quarterback afterwards.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38358393/sources-boston-college-makes-thomas-castellanos-starting-qb|publisher=ESPN|title=Boston College makes Thomas Castellanos starting QB|author=Thamel, Pete|date=September 9, 2023}} In his first start, he led Boston College to a 31–28 win over Holy Cross while completing 17-of-23 pass attempts for 204 yards and two touchdowns, additionally having 69 rushing yards off 16 attempts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/football-ncaa-boc-hcr/thomas-castellanos-helps-boston-college-edge-holy-cross-idUSMTZXEJ99QO44TE|website=Reuters|title=Thomas Castellanos helps Boston College edge Holy Cross|date=September 9, 2023}} In his second start, he helped the Eagles come close to upsetting third-ranked Florida State, throwing for 305 yards and a touchdown and running for 95 yards and another score in the 31–29 loss.{{Cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/09/16/former-ucf-qb-thomas-castellanos-almost-leads-bc-to-upset-of-no-3-fsu/|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|title=Ex-UCF QB Thomas almost leads BC to upset of FSU|date=September 16, 2023}}
Castellanos continued as BC's starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2023 season. He led the Eagles to their first 7-win season since 2018 and their first bowl game win since 2016, in which the Eagles upset No. 24 SMU Mustangs, and he won Offensive MVP.{{cite web | last=Bergamini | first=Jack | title=Castellanos' Heroics Lift Eagles Over No. 17 SMU in Fenway Bowl | website=The Heights | date=2023-12-28 | url=https://www.bcheights.com/2023/12/28/boston-college-football-defeats-smu-in-fenway-bowl/ | access-date=2024-09-02}}
Castellanos ended the season as the second-most prolific rushing quarterback in the FBS, only behind LSU's Jayden Daniels.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/stats/player/_/view/offense/stat/rushing/table/rushing/sort/rushingYards/dir/desc |title=College Football Offense Rushing All Conferences Stat Leaders, 2023 Season }}
==2024 season==
Castellanos was named the starter for the 2024 season. To begin the season, the Eagles, led by Castellanos, upset the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles, where Castellanos was 10-16 for 106 pass yards, two pass touchdowns and no interceptions, adding 73 rush yards and a rush touchdown. The following week, after a blowout win against Duquesne, the Eagles were ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll, which was the first time they had been ranked since 2018. That week, the Eagles came close to upsetting the No. 6 Missouri Tigers, eventually losing 27-21. In this game, Castellanos was 16-28 for 249 passing yards, three pass touchdowns, and two interceptions. The following week, the Eagles beat the Michigan State Spartans 23-19 in the famous red bandana game, where Castellanos was 10-16 for 140 pass yards, a pass touchdown and no interceptions. It was later reported Castellanos had an undisclosed injury, which ruled him out for the 21-20 win over Western Kentucky. In the Week 11 game against Syracuse, Castellanos was 2-7 for 14 pass yards, one pass touchdown and an interception, before eventually getting injured with an apparent lower body injury, sidelining him for the rest of the game in the 37-31 win over Syracuse.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}
On November 13, 2024, head coach Bill O'Brien announced FIU transfer Grayson James would get the start over Castellanos at SMU.{{cite web|last=Adelson|first=Andrea|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/42349026/boston-college-start-qb-grayson-james-thomas-castellanos|title=Boston College to start Grayson James at QB against SMU|work=ESPN.com|date=12 November 2024|access-date=12 November 2024}} The next day, Castellanos announced he intended to enter the transfer portal. On December 9, 2024, Thomas Castellanos officially entered the transfer portal. https://247sports.com/college/boston-college/article/report-thomas-castellanos-enters-transfer-portal-239698589/amp/
= Florida State =
On December 11, 2024, Castellanos announced that he would transfer to Florida State.{{cite web|url=https://www.on3.com/news/transfer-portal-qb-thomas-castellanos-commits-to-florida-state-acc/|title=QB Thomas Castellanos makes portal commitment in the ACC|website=On3.com|first=Sam|last=Gillenwater|date=December 11, 2024|access-date=December 11, 2024}}
=Statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Season
! colspan="3"| Games ! colspan="8"| Passing ! colspan="4" | Rushing | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | |
| colspan="16" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|UCF Knights}}"| UCF Knights | |||||||||||||||
| 2022
| 5 || 0 || 0–0 || 9 || 16 || 56.3 || 75 || 4.7 || 0 || 0 || 95.6 || 14 || 120 || 8.6 || 1 | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="16" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Boston College Eagles}}"| Boston College Eagles | |||||||||||||||
| 2023
| 13 || 12 || 7–6 || 189 || 330 || 57.3 || 2,248 || 6.8 || 15 || 14 || 121.0 || 215 || 1,114 || 5.2 || 13 | |||||||||||||||
| 2024
| 8 || 8 || 4–4 || 99 || 161 || 61.5 || 1,366 || 8.5 || 18 || 5 || 163.4 || 93 || 194 || 2.1 || 1 | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="16" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Florida State Seminoles}}"| Florida State Seminoles | |||||||||||||||
| 2025
| 0 || 0 || 0–0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/thomas-castellanos-1.html Career] | 26 | 20 | 11–10 | 297 | 507 | 58.6 | 3,689 | 7.3 | 33 | 19 | 133.7 | 322 | 1,427 | 4.4 | 15 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/roster/thomas-castellanos/13326 UCF Knights bio]
- [https://bceagles.com/sports/football/roster/thomas-castellanos/17042 Boston College Eagles bio]
{{Boston College Eagles quarterback navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castellanos, Thomas}}
Category:Players of American football from Waycross, Georgia
Category:American football quarterbacks
Category:UCF Knights football players
Category:Boston College Eagles football players
Category:Hispanic and Latino American players of American football