Under Mike Norvell, FSU’s 2024 was its worst in half a century, finishing with a dismissal 2-10 record. But that is now a story of the past, and Mike Norvell has brought in some of the best offensive pieces for his team. One of those pieces is a former Boston College QB, Thomas Castellanos, who looks to be that final missing link in FSU’s offense. But the team doesn’t just have Tommy Castellanos as their QB. To ensure his success behind the center, Mike Norvell also brought in Gus Malzahn, who coached Castellanos at UCF in 2022. And guess what? The pair is looking great than one anticipates.
To know how good Castellanos is, one just needs to look at the QB’s 2023 season. In that year, he not only produced 2,248 yards in the air but also was lethal in the ground game as he garnered 1,113 yards on the ground. This feat made him the first QB in Boston College’s history to surpass 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a single season, making him one of the most exciting names in college football. However, when the 2024 season came, his performances dropped significantly, but was it all his fault?
As Boston College hired a new head coach, Bill O’ Brien, he brought with him his pro-style offense, in which Castellanos regressed. The same QB who broke the record last year struggled and produced just 194 yards in the ground game and was limited to 1,366 yards in the air game. Castellanos was then benched in favor of Grayson James on November 12th and quickly exited to program. But now that he is at FSU with Gus Malzahn, it looks like the 2024 woes may not follow.
ESPN’s ACC reporter and an FSU alum, Taylor Tannebaum, sat with Kerry Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain on their 23rd June podcast episode. In her talk, she discussed several optimistic offensive pieces for FSU and chose Tommy Castellanos when asked by Mac Lain. “What’s the piece that I guess excites you the most, just one, I just want one that you’re like ‘Yeah, when that happened, I’m in, I like that’ ?” Tannebaum provided her reasoning as to why she chose Castellanos, and it had to do with Gus Malzahn’s offense.
“I’m a big Thomas Castellano’s fan, I’ve always loved interviewing him, I just love his swagger… We did not see the best of Thomas Castellanos last year in a Boston College uniform…And that’s okay, what wasn’t working for them, wanted to go a different direction, so did he, and I think when someone believes in you the way I know Mike Norvell and Gus Malzahn will believe in him and use him, I think that he could truly be a star,” said Taylor Tannebaum and she is quite apt with her take.
Malzahn is an offensive mind who uses mobile QBs who can extend plays with intricate runs designed by him. Moreover, Castellanos is already being compared to 2013 Auburn star Nick Marshall as Malzahn said, “He’s got a lot of playmaking ability.” And the new FSU OC is right. The QB will fit in like a glove in his RPO-heavy offense and will complement Malzahn’s schemes. But all of this wasn’t a happy coincidence, as Castellanos recalls. It was a conscious decision from Mike Norvell to bring the QB, who might not have appealed to other programs due to his 2024 season. All of these things will surely help FSU beat Alabama in their game, against which Castellanos is already quite riled up.
Thomas Castellanos opens up about the ‘desperation’ to join FSU
Apart from Castellanos, FSU will also have some of the best offensive players coming in for the team to support the QB. For instance, much of the O-line struggles might not be there as Mike Norvell has added 4 O-line players on transfer. These also include players like Adrian Medley and Gunner Hansen, coming from Vanderbilt, protecting Thomas Castellanos’ blind side. But more than these players was FSU’s desperation to succeed, which motivated Castellanos to come, as he tells.
“Florida State’s been the school I’ve always wanted to go to. It’s my dream school. I just feel like it’s right, and I remember the last time I went to a 2-10 team and had a successful season. I wanted that challenge to come over here and turn this thing around and get it back to where it needed to be. And plus, I feel like I had a pretty good season or two seasons there at BC. I feel like if I did what I did over there, over here, then I’ll be way bigger. It will mean a lot more at Florida State,” said Castellanos to On3 recently about why he came to Florida.
The not-so-quite confidence makes the QB look like a perfect fit for FSU, and the only thing Mike Norvell will need to do is to protect him from injuries. For example, last year, the QB’s benching at Boston College was also reported to be influenced by his undisclosed injuries during the season. So, if Mike Norvell can protect the QB, then FSU might finally make a comeback, rising from the debacles of the 2024 season.
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