Story by
Thomas Castellanos, Boston College nearly upset Florida State football in 2023, revisited
- Story by
- Thomas Castellanos, Boston College nearly upset Florida State football in 2023, revisited
Forgive Florida State football fans if the name Thomas Castellanos brings back bad memories.
In Week 3 of the 2023 football season, the Boston College football quarterback nearly ruined the Seminoles ' perfect regular season before it really got going. With FSU players preparing to play through potential hurricane-level winds due to Hurricane Lee's potential impact on Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Castellanos put together one of the best performances of his career.
Advertisement
REQUIRED READING: Mike Norvell says Florida State football has an 'edge' to them ahead of Boston College game
The then-redshirt sophomore quarterback threw for over 300 yards and rushed for almost 100 yards as the Eagles nearly pulled off the comeback from a 21-point deficit to nearly upset the Seminoles on Sept. 16, 2023.
Now Castellanos is coached by former NFL coach Bill O'Brien, hoping to play spoiler for FSU's home opener at Doak Campbell Stadium. The No. 10 Seminoles (0-1, 0-1 ACC) look to bounce back from their season-opening to Georgia Tech in Ireland last week with a matchup against the Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Here's a look back at last season's performance for Castellanos against the Seminoles last season:
Advertisement
Thomas Castellanos stats vs Florida State 2023
The Seminoles entered as 24.5-point favorites entering the matchup last season in Chestnut Hill. They looked well on their way to a run-away victory with a 31-10 lead with 11:20 left in the third quarter, which included 28 straight points after the Eagles held a 10-3 lead at the beginning of the second quarter.
However, the Eagles scored the final 19 points of the game, and if not for a potentially missed facemask call on their final drive, they could have had a chance for a game-winning field goal to pull off the upset.
Castellanos had season highs with 20 completed passes and 305 passing yards, with a touchdown and an interception against the Seminoles. He added 16 rushes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Big-time third-down conversations, including a 45-yard scamper on third-and-14 in the second quarter and a 52-yard pass to Dino Tomlin on a third-and-17 in the third quarter, helped Castellanos keep the pressure on the Seminoles' defense.
Advertisement
The Eagles were 8-for-19 on third downs and were 4-for-5 on fourth down conversions against a defense that featured five 2024 NFL Draft picks in DE Jared Verse (first round), DT Braden Fiske (second), DBs Renardo Green (second) and Jarrian Jones (third), as well as LB Tatum Bethune (seventh). BC converted third downs with an average distance of 9.8 yards for the game. As a result, the Eagles held the ball for 33:50 and the Seminoles just 26:10.
Thomas Castellanos recruiting
Mike Norvell and FSU recruited Castellanos out of high school. The former 3-star recruit in the 2022 recruiting class out of Ware County High in Waycross, Georgia, reported an offer from FSU in February 2021. He, however, committed to UCF the following month because the Knights allowed him the opportunity to play QB.
"Thomas is somebody we recruited," Norvell said ahead of the 2023 matchup against Castellanos. "We were looking at him as a running back athlete as he was coming out. He's really done a nice job. He went to UCF, now transferred up to Boston College .
Advertisement
"You see the play-making ability that he has. He was a great player in high school. He's somebody that you absolutely have to work to contain."
Castellanos appeared in five games and completed 9-of-16 pass attempts for 75 yards in his lone season before transferring to Boston College. Castellanos began his BC career as the backup to Emmett Morehead before taking over in the first half of Week 1 against Northern Illinois.
He ended the season as the second-best rushing QB behind Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with 208 rushes for 1,114 yards and 14 touchdowns, to go along with 189-for-330 passing for 2,248 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Thomas Castellanos: Lookback at his coming out game vs. Florida State football
