Thomas Castellanos

#4 · QB · Texas Tech5′10″ · 190 lb · Waycross, GA · Ware County

Nextvs West VirginiaSat Nov 7 · 9:30 pm ET

Started again vs Arizona, the first start since Houston, week 3.

W 34-26 vs No. 22 Arizona, Oct 31: 11 of 24 for 144 yards, 2 touchdowns · 19 carries for 117 yards, a rushing touchdown.

Texas Tech’s next game: vs West Virginia, Sat Nov 7, 9:30 p.m. ET · ESPN

This week

RecordTexas Tech is 7-1, No. 13 in the AP poll (week 10).
Fans after Arizona
Castellanos only knows how to throw deep. That should have been a QB draw TBH.
Texas Tech fan

What’s being said

26 stories this week, from 11 outlets.

Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

Texas Tech expected to start Thomas Castellanos at QB vs. Arizona

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal +2 Oct 31

All 128 stories this season

Worth knowing

Thomas Castellanos played at UCF, Boston College and Florida State before joining Texas Tech.

His most important play this season

Q3, 2:33 · Texas Tech down 6, takes the leadThomas Castellanos finds Kenny Johnson for a 27-yard touchdownArizona at Texas Tech, week 9Q3, 2:33 · Texas Tech 24, Arizona 23Go-ahead score for Texas Tech in the third quarterGo-ahead score for Texas Tech in the third quarterT.Castellanos pass complete deep left to K.Johnson caught at ARI02, for 27 yards to the ARI00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this play

All 3 of his plays on video

Thomas Castellanos

QB · Texas Tech · #4

The five seasons span four programs and five head coaches: Gus Malzahn, Jeff Hafley, Bill O'Brien, Mike Norvell and Joey McGuire. First career honor, 2024: All-ACC. A game that shows it: 144 passing yards and 117 rushing yards against Arizona — Week 9, 2026.

189 passing yards · 4 passing TD · 182 rushing yards

Style of play

Play style

Runs when the pocket breaks down.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Garrett GreeneWest Virginia · 2024 · 73% season match
John Rhys PlumleeUCF · 2023 · 68% season match
Jaylen RaynorArkansas State · 2023 · 66% season match
Dillon GabrielOklahoma · 2022 · 63% season match
Devon DampierNew Mexico · 2024 · 62% season match

The latest game

Against Arizona on Oct. 31: 11 of 24 for 144 yards. In the 5 games drawn here: 14 of 29 for 189 yards.

First quarterSecond quarterThird quarterFourth quarter

W 34-26 vs Arizona11 of 24, 144 yds, 2 TD
W 53-25 vs Arizona State1 of 1, 10 yds
W 49-14 vs Sam Houston1 of 2, 27 yds, 1 TD
W 28-26 vs Houston0 of 1, 0 yds
W 35-24 at Oregon State1 of 1, 8 yds, 1 TD

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.

“If we combined Castellanos and Hammond we would have like half of a starting QB”Texas Tech fan, r/CFB game thread, after his -1-yard run against Oregon State. Fans named him again and again right after.

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2026	Texas Tech	14	29	48.3%	189	6.5	4	1	141.6	--
2025	Florida State	180	309	58.3%	2,760	8.9	15	9	143.5	77
2024	Boston College	99	161	61.5%	1,366	8.5	18	5	163.4	40
2023	Boston College	189	330	57.3%	2,270	6.9	15	14	121.6	45
2022	UCF	9	16	56.2%	75	4.7	0	0	95.6	--
Career		491	845	58.1%	6,660	7.9	52	29	137.8	56

Season	Team
2026	Texas Tech	34	182	5.4	3	25
2025	Florida State	137	557	4.1	9	26
2024	Boston College	93	194	2.1	1	18
2023	Boston College	215	1,113	5.2	13	45
2022	UCF	14	120	8.6	1	43
Career		493	2,166	4.4	27	45

Last game (Wk 9): 144 passing yards, 2 passing TD.

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 5 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	Grade	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	SK	RUSH	Note
Wk 2	W 35-24@ Oregon State	Came on in Q4	1/1	8	1	0	8.0	--	0	15
Wk 3	W 28-26vs No. 22 Houston	Left in Q1	0/1	0	0	1	0.0	--	0	3
Wk 4	W 49-14vs Sam Houston	Came on in Q4	1/2	27	1	0	13.5	--	—	26
Wk 7	W 53-25vs Arizona State	Came on in Q4	1/1	10	0	0	10.0	--	—	21
Wk 9	W 34-26vs No. 22 Arizona	Shaky	11/24	144	2	0	6.0	77.8	1	117	Season-high 144 yds
Total			14/29	189	4	1	6.5	—	1	182

Signature game

Week 9 · 2026

W 34-26

vs Arizona

144 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 77.8 · 117 rush yds (19 car) · 1 TD

With J. Williams — 175 rush yds (14 car) · 1 TD · 1 rec · 11 yds · W. Karoll — 40.5 yards per punt · 4 punts · 3 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 4 · Sam Houston · 3rd and 27 · Q4 · EPA +5.74Castellanos to Simmons: a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Week 9 · Arizona · 4th and 2 · Q3 · EPA +3.91Castellanos to Johnson: a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Week 3 · Houston · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −3.77W.Hammond pass intercepted by J.Mayo at HOU04, End Of Play
Week 3 · Houston · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA −3.65T.Castellanos pass intercepted by W.James at HOU45 QB hurried by K.Laufau, End Of Play
Week 9 · Arizona · 3rd and 2 · Q2 · EPA +2.94T.Castellanos rush right for 24 yards gain (M.Hartzog)
Week 2 · Oregon State · 3rd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +2.90Castellanos to Ludwig: an 8-yard touchdown pass.

4 more plays

Week 9 · Arizona · 3rd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +2.74Castellanos to Williams: an 11-yard pass.
Week 9 · Arizona · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.68Castellanos to Carter Jr.: a 24-yard touchdown pass.
Week 9 · Arizona · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +2.68T.Castellanos rush left for 8 yards gain for a touchdown
Week 9 · Arizona · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA −2.52T.Castellanos sacked for loss of 7 yards (C.Kennedy)

Where he ranks

Stat	His	Nation	Big 12
Passing yards	189	204th of 370	26th of 42
Yards an attempt	6.5	Not ranked	Not ranked
Touchdown passes	4	T-134th of 370	19th of 42
Passer rating	141.6	Not ranked	Not ranked
Completion percentage	48.3	Not ranked	Not ranked
Rushing yards	182	68th of 370	9th of 42
Rushing touchdowns	3	T-53rd of 370	T-8th of 42

Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game. He has 29 attempts of the 80 needed after 8 games, so the rates are not ranked.

All Big 12 quarterbacks

Rk	Quarterback	Yards	TD	INT	Att	Y/A
1	Drew Mestemaker	2,649	25	7	281	9.4
2	Noah Fifita	2,464	19	4	269	9.2
3	Jaden Craig	2,207	11	6	269	8.2
4	Conner Weigman	2,052	20	2	233	8.8
5	Devon Dampier	1,876	18	7	227	8.3
6	JC French	1,773	13	3	213	8.3
7	Bear Bachmeier	1,750	12	4	214	8.2
8	D.J. Lagway	1,671	13	4	242	6.9
9	Michael Hawkins Jr.	1,598	11	2	159	10.1
10	Will Hammond	1,561	6	6	205	7.6
11	Isaiah Marshall	1,506	11	7	196	7.7
12	Jaylen Raynor	1,416	10	5	186	7.6
13	Cutter Boley	1,360	13	5	173	7.9
14	Avery Johnson	1,301	10	3	187	7.0
15	Keyone Jenkins	1,181	11	4	180	6.6
16	Isaac Wilson	1,164	7	7	149	7.8
17	Julian Lewis	733	6	2	95	7.7
18	Nate Bennett	568	5	2	61	9.3
19	Alonza Barnett	477	2	1	65	7.3
20	Mikey Keene	448	2	0	61	7.3
21	Cole Ballard	381	1	1	43	8.9
22	Blake Barnett	265	3	0	33	8.0
23	Jake Fette	224	2	0	50	4.5
24	Jacob Knuth	201	1	0	42	4.8
25	Byrd Ficklin	192	2	0	20	9.6
26	Thomas Castellanos	189	4	1	29	6.5
27	Sawyer Anderson	112	0	2	15	7.5
28	Kaneal Sweetwyne	105	0	0	17	6.2
29	Connor Moberly	83	0	0	19	4.4
30	Keisean Henderson	83	2	0	8	10.4
31	Chase Jenkins	65	0	0	3	21.7
32	Broderick Vehrs	61	1	0	8	7.6
33	Jyron Hughley	27	1	0	1	27.0
34	Scotty Fox Jr.	27	0	0	4	6.8
35	Edward Griffin	19	0	1	6	3.2
36	Liam O'Brien	18	0	0	5	3.6
37	Treyson Bourguet	15	0	1	3	5.0
38	Samaj Jones	9	0	0	2	4.5
39	Kaleb Annett	6	0	0	3	2.0
40	Dillon Duff	2	0	0	1	2.0
41	Adam Schobel	0	0	0	1	0.0
42	Kirk Francis	0	0	0	1	0.0

Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.

Passing yards18930th among current FBS players over the whole career (6,660).

Touchdown passes4tied for 24th among current FBS players over the whole career (52).

Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.

Opponents faced, by strength

Ratings of the games shown run from -18 to +16 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).

Pass targets

Johnson and Carter saw 15 of the 29 charted throws.

Receiver	Targets	Catches	Yards	Throw depth	After catch
Kenny Johnson	9	4	49	18.8	2.0
Terrance Carter	6	3	42	13.7	3.3
Micah Hudson	5	1	17	23.2	0.0
Chase Campbell	3	2	20	7.0	8.5
Malcolm Simmons	2	1	27	18.5	0.0
3 others	3	3	34	4.3	7.0
No receiver charted	1	The interception is among these

Play by play: 29 passes, 14 caught, 189 yards. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.

Teams and coaches

2022UCF9-5HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2023Boston College7-6HC: Jeff Hafley · Run-leaning

2024Boston College7-6HC: Bill O'Brien · Run-heavy

2025Florida State5-7HC: Mike Norvell · Run-leaning

2026Texas Tech7-1HC: Joey McGuire · Run-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 70 (#31 of 146). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score percentiles

70Quality starter #31 of 146 · 2025, at Florida State?

Ascending2 metrics · season cumulative

2025 score, at Florida State: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Concern: completion % (1st percentile).

Box-score rates

Yards / att#129 / 159 · 18th pct

6.5

Completion %#159 / 159 · 1st pct

48.3%

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 5 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home4g	45.2	0.8	7.4	0.2
Road1g	8.0	1.0	8.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-74g	11.2	0.5	7.9	0.2
Weeks 8+1g	144	2.0	6.0	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Joey McGuire

Pass share

43.2%

236 pass / 310 run

Plays / game

68.2

8 games

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Texas Tech’s quarterbacks

Thomas Castellanos	Threw in 5 of 8 games · 14 of 29, 189 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT · 6.5 yards an attempt on 29 attempts · ran for 182 yds, 3 TD
Will Hammond	Threw in 7 of 8 games · 139 of 205, 1,561 yds, 6 TD, 6 INT · 7.6 yards an attempt on 205 attempts · ran for 110 yds, 2 TD
Kirk Francis	Threw in 1 of 8 games · 0 of 1, 0 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · 0.0 yards an attempt on 1 attempt

Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.

Who threw, quarter by quarter

Who threw in each quarter. Blue: Thomas Castellanos. Gray: Will Hammond, Kirk Francis. From the play by play.

Q1Q2Q3Q4Abilene Christian@ Oregon StateHoustonSam Houston@ ColoradoArizona State@ CincinnatiArizona

Awards

Player standing · 2026

34 carries and 29 pass attempts in 5 games

Fewer passes and runs a game than most FBS quarterbacks who play every week.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Five seasons, four schools

2026 is in progress.

2026 Texas Tech McGuire
Year 5 · 5 games
Aug 2026 Entered the transfer portal
Florida State to Texas Tech
2025 Florida State Norvell
Year 4 · 12 games
Dec 2024 Entered the transfer portal
Boston College to Florida State
2024 Boston College O'Brien
Year 3 · 8 games
2023 Boston College Hafley
Year 2 · 13 games
Apr 2023 Entered the transfer portal
UCF to Boston College
2022 UCF Malzahn
Year 1 · 5 games
High school Ware County
Waycross, GA · Class of 2022
Three-star, No. 545 in the 2022 class. Signed with UCF.

Season by season

Thomas Castellanos

Texas Tech · Third school in three seasons; threw 29 passes this season

Three-star, No. 545 in the 2022 class. Ware County, Waycross, GA.

In 2026 Thomas Castellanos threw 29 of Texas Tech's 236 passes, in five of eight games.

Passing seasons on file
Year	School	Passes	Yards	TD	INT
2022	UCF	16	75	0	0
2023	Boston College	330	2,248	15	14
2024	Boston College	161	1,366	18	5
2025	Florida State	309	2,760	15	9
2026	Texas Tech	29	189	4	1

Of 32 unranked quarterbacks who threw 100 or more passes in their fourth season, 22 threw 100 or more passes in their fifth season

Unranked quarterbacks whose first season on an FBS roster was 2018 to 2022. Castellanos is in the same spot now: unranked, 100 or more passes in a fourth season. Here is where each of the 32 stood in their fifth season. Press a row to see the names.

22Threw 100 or more passesAt a different school: 10 of 22

Gerry Bohannon, Baylor, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 160. At a different school.
Chevan Cordeiro, Hawai'i, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 426. At a different school.
Gavin Hardison, UTEP, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 316.
Chase Cunningham, Middle Tennessee, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 463.
Jaren Hall, BYU, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 376.
Frank Harris, UTSA, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 471.
Malik Cunningham, Louisville, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 218.
Chris Reynolds, Charlotte, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 316.
N'Kosi Perry, Miami, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 370. At a different school.
Tanner Morgan, Minnesota, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 160.
Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 329. At a different school.
Stetson Bennett, Georgia, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 455.
Henry Colombi, Utah State, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 128. At a different school.
Taylor Powell, Missouri, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 270. At a different school.
Aidan O'Connell, Purdue, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 497.
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 224.
Payton Thorne, Michigan State, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 265. At a different school.
Trenton Bourguet, Arizona State, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 248.
Kedon Slovis, USC, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 266. At a different school.
Chandler Morris, Oklahoma, first season 2020. Passes in the fifth season: 509. At a different school.
Brady Cook, Missouri, first season 2020. Passes in the fifth season: 320.
Bryson Barnes, Utah, first season 2020. Passes in the fifth season: 126. At a different school.

4On a roster, under 100 passesAt a different school: three of four

D.J. Mack Jr., UCF, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: three. At a different school.
Rocky Lombardi, Michigan State, first season 2018. Passes in the fifth season: 75. At a different school.
Ben Wooldridge, Fresno State, first season 2019. Passes in the fifth season: 69. At a different school.
Trexler Ivey, Charlotte, first season 2020. Passes in the fifth season: 59.

5No roster listing

1Drafted

Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati, first season 2018. Drafted No. 74 overall in 2022.

The furthest path up, and the low edge

These two mark the edges of the group, not a usual path.

Furthest up: Desmond Ridder

Cincinnati, first season 2018. Drafted No. 74 overall in 2022.

The low edge

Of the 32, five had no roster listing in the fifth season. Our rosters cannot say why a listing stops.

How to read this

The group is every one of the unranked quarterbacks with 100 or more passes in a fourth season on an FBS roster, first seasons 2018 to 2022. A quarterback counts under “Threw 100 or more passes” when the passes in the fifth season, at any FBS school, add to 100 or more. “No roster listing” means no FBS roster listed the quarterback as a QB that season. A missing listing does not say why a listing stops, and rosters below FBS are still being filled in. “Drafted” means picked in a draft held before the fifth season. Quarterbacks whose name matches a second QB id are left out. Furthest up is the highest draft pick in the group, or with no draft pick, the most passes in the fifth season. The low edge is a count of quarterbacks with no roster listing in the fifth season. Counts are from box scores and rosters on our list. Seasons before 2022 predate today's transfer rules.

Moves

Transferred from UCF to Boston College, Apr 20, 2023.
Transferred from Boston College to Florida State, Dec 12, 2024.
Transferred from Florida State to Texas Tech, Aug 21, 2026.

Played for four programs.

2022 5 games

Signed with UCFThree-star, out of Ware County

2023 13 games

The role got bigger.

Transferred to Boston Collegefrom UCF

2024 8 games

All-ACC

2025 12 games

Transferred to Florida Statefrom Boston College

2026 5 games

Transferred to Texas Techfrom Florida State

Coaching lineage · 2022–2026

5 coaches

2022

Gus Malzahn

UCF

2023

Jeff Hafley

Boston College

era →

2024

Bill O'Brien

Boston College

era →

2025

Mike Norvell

Florida State

era →

2026

Joey McGuire

Texas Tech

era →

Played for 5 head coaches at 4 schools: Gus Malzahn, Jeff Hafley, Bill O'Brien, Mike Norvell and Joey McGuire.

Next stop · Transfer

Transferred to Texas Tech

2022UCF

2023–24Boston College

2025Florida State

2026Texas Tech

View Florida State career stats ↓

Thomas Castellanos

This week

What’s being said

Worth knowing

His most important play this season

Style of play

Similar players

In the news this week

What they’re talking about

In the news this season

What they’re talking about

Week by week

What was said at each stop

In the news across his career

What fans said

Latest stories

In the news

In the game threads

Where to follow

The latest game

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Where he ranks

Pass targets

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Texas Tech’s quarterbacks

Who threw, quarter by quarter

Awards

34 carries and 29 pass attempts in 5 games

Five seasons, four schools

Thomas Castellanos

Of 32 unranked quarterbacks who threw 100 or more passes in their fourth season, 22 threw 100 or more passes in their fifth season

The furthest path up, and the low edge

Furthest up: Desmond Ridder

The low edge

Moves

2022 5 games

2023 13 games

2024 8 games

2025 12 games

2026 5 games