| Thomas Castellanos | |
| School: | Boston College Eagles |
| Pastschools: | UCF (2022) Boston College (2023–2024) |
| Currentnumber: | 1 |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Class: | Junior |
| Bowlgames: |
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| Highschool: | Ware County (GA) |
| Birth Date: | 26 August 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 9 |
| Weight Lb: | 196 |
| Espn: | 4773919 |
Thomas Castellanos (born August 26, 2003) is an American football quarterback who most recently played for the Boston College Eagles. He previously played for the UCF Knights.
Castellanos was born in Miami, Florida and grew up in Waycross, Georgia.[2] 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.[3] [4]
Castellanos attended Ware County High School where he played football, basketball and track and field.[5] 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.[6] As senior, he threw for 2,613 yards and 25 scores while adding 968 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.[7] Castellanos totaled 7,710 passing yards and 3,681 rushing yards for Ware County, also playing defensive back in addition to quarterback.[8] He committed to play college football for the UCF Knights, choosing them over Florida State and Georgia.[9] [10]
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.[8] He entered the NCAA transfer portal after the season and ultimately transferred to Boston College, choosing them over Texas State.[11]
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.[4] 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.[12] He was named the team's full-time starting quarterback afterwards.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]
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.[16]
Castellanos ended the season as the second-most prolific rushing quarterback in 2023 FBS football, only behind LSU's Jayden Daniels.[17]
2024 season
Castellanos was named the starter for the Boston College Eagles 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, 2 pass touchdowns and no interceptions, adding 73 rush yards and 1 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 the 2018 season. 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, 3 pass touchdowns, and 2 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, 1 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, 1 pass touchdown and 1 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. On November 13, 2024, head coach Bill O'Brien announced a switch in quarterback roles.
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| UCF Knights | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | 0–0 | 9 | 16 | 56.3 | 75 | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 95.6 | 14 | 120 | 8.6 | 1 | |
| 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 | |
| Career | 26 | 20 | 11-10 | 297 | 507 | 58.6 | 3,689 | 7.3 | 33 | 19 | 133.7 | 322 | 1,427 | 4.4 | 15 | |