The FSU Seminoles are entering a critical year in Mike Norvell’s tenure. Florida State was seemingly on the upward trajectory before a disastrous 2024 season, going 2-10 and losing all of the momentum from their great 2022-23 seasons.
Norvell flipped the roster and coaching staff ahead of the 2025 season and one of the biggest additions was bringing in transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos from Boston College. While he wasn’t their highest-rated transfer, he is likely their most important due to his position and what he can mean for FSU’s new-look offense.
Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will be running the offense instead of Norvell, bringing a run-first approach that is at its best when the quarterback is also a threat to run. While Castellanos is a great fit for the offense, he is still coming off a poor season with Boston College, where he lost his starting job and entered the transfer portal.
That has caused Matt Zemek of College Sports Wire to rank Castallanos as the 10th-best quarterback in the ACC ahead of the 2025 season.
“It is hard to be optimistic about Florida State this year, which makes it hard to give Castellanos an especially high ranking,” he said. “Mike Norvell is under fire in Tallahassee. He needs to coach his way out of the doghouse. If he does, Castellanos will be a top-five, maybe top-three, quarterback in the 2025 ACC.”
Castellanos was one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in 2023, throwing for 2,245 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He added 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. Boston College attempted to make him more of a drop-back passer in 2024, but it did not work as he was not nearly as effective running the ball.
That won’t be the case under Malzahn, who signed Castellanos as a high school recruit, and has had great success with running quarterbacks.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Tommy Castellanos ranked among bottom half of ACC quarterbacks
Reporting by JD McCarthy, FSU Wire / FSU Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
