Who is Tommy Castellanos? Meet the new FSU QB that trash talked Alabama

Morgan Moriarty

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Who is Tommy Castellanos? Meet the new FSU QB that trash talked Alabama image

Week 1 of college football has delivered some gems on Saturday, headline by the unranked Seminoles upsetting No. 9 Alabama 31-17.

One of the stars that emerged from the game was FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos. 

In his first start as the Noles new quarterback, he has had himself a day, finished throwing for 152 yards and rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown. Castellanos has a unique backstory, and he even talked some trash about Alabama at ACC Media Days.

Let's take a peek at Castellanos' game on Saturday, his journey to Tallahassee and more. 

How did Thomas Castellanos do against the Tide? 

In the first half, Castellanos led two scoring drives, one capped off with a nine-yard touchdown drive from the signal-caller:

This image of Castellanos scoring alongside two Florida State legends in Dalvin Cook and Warrick Dunn on the sideline is also pretty epic: 

Castellanos led Florida State in rushing during the upset victory, and averaged 4.9 yards per carry. He also threw this huge 65-yard bomb to his receiver Jaylin Lucas: 

Just one play later, FSU scored another touchdown that put the Noles up 24-7 in the third quarter:

In the fourth quarter, he helped lead another Florida State scoring drive to give the Noles their 31-17 lead that held until the end. After the win, he celebrated by paying homage to another FSU quarterback in Jameis Winston. Folks, he ate a dub! 

The best part about all this is that with the upset, Castellanos fully backed up his trash talk about Alabama he gave over the summer. 

What did Thomas Castellanos say about Alabama ?

Castellanos made headlines over the summer for his comments about Saturday's game. At first, he expressed his excitement about playing Alabama, but then downplayed the Crimson Tide being favored:   

“I’m excited, man,” Castellanos said via On3Sports. “People, I don’t know if they know, but you go back and watch every first game that I played in, we always start fast. I dreamed of moments like this. I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.” 

Obviously, the comments made headlines, especially given Florida State's abysmal 2-10 record just last season. But despite the backlash, Castallanos didn't waiver when asked about it in the weeks that followed. 

“We stand on what I said,” Castellanos said via On3 | Rivals’ Warchant. “I said what I said and we stand on that. I don’t mean no disrespect to none of those guys at Alabama or nothing like that. It was just I have confidence in my guys, the work we’ve been putting in, preparing, and the preparation we’ve been putting together. So, that’s all that was. No disrespect to those guys but we stand on what I said.”

MORE: Arch Manning grades: Hyped Texas QB limited by dominating Ohio State defense 

Thomas Castellanos career history 

Castellanos has had a journeyman-like career in college. He played high school football in Waycross, Georgia, and was rated as a three-star dual-threat prospect from the class of 2022 per 247Sports. He signed with the University of Central Florida, but transferred to Boston College after just one season.

In 2023, he started for the Eagles and threw for 2,248 yards with 15 touchdowns, rushing for another 215 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. He did throw 14 interceptions on the year, however. His 2024 season was pretty eventful. He started the first eight games for BC, but was benched late in the season against Syracuse after going 2-of-7 passing for 14 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Shortly after the benching, BC coach Bill O'Brien said Castellanos was 'taking a couple days' away from the program, but he ended up entering the transfer portal shortly thereafter.

He ended up at FSU in early December, reunited with Guz Malzahn who recruited him to Central Florida coming out of high school.

Not too bad of a first start for Castellanos in Tallahassee. Let's see what he can do the rest of the season after a huge Week 1 performance against the Tide. 

Morgan Moriarty

Morgan Moriarty joined The Sporting News as a content producer in the fall of 2024. Her sports journalism career started at the University of Florida in 2012, where she graduated in 2015. She has covered college football and basketball, the NFL and numerous other major sports for outlets like the Tampa Bay Times, Saturday Down South, UPROXX Sports and SB Nation. She also covers college football for Bleacher Report, and is a featured guest on various CNN programs.