Mike Norvell raves about Thomas Castellanos’ investment to Florida State program

QB Thomas Castellanos used to be the one upsetting Florida State. Now, in his debut as a Seminole, Castellanos backed everything from this offseason up in leading to an upset of their own for FSU.

Mike Norvell spoke on Castellanos’ impact, both off the field as well as obviously on it after the 31-17 win over No. 8 Alabama. He mentioned, as he has much of the offseason, how bought into his new program that Castellanos is, which has positively affected all of them down in Tallahassee.

“You know, I know you guys have asked a lot of questions about Tommy since he’s been here and, you know, I think, probably every time that I’ve answered, I talk about the investment he’s making off the field. I talk about, you know, what he’s doing pouring into his teammates,” said Norvell. “You know, he really is a guy that, when he steps on the field, you know, ten guys on offense are better.”

It’s not words, though, when it comes to Castellanos. Again, he backs it up with his play – and may not do so more than what he did against the Crimson Tide in the opener.

“He’s got great energy. But it’s not just what he says, and that’s where people can get caught up, because somebody’s not afraid to talk and, you know, put thoughts out there. I mean, he does it with his actions. If Tommy didn’t say a word, you would still feel the way he plays,” said Norvell. “I’m grateful that, you know, he’s willing to put himself out there, and we’ve got a lot of guys that have showed up on this team that, you know, even in the course of sometimes making, you know, a misstep or a mistake or getting beat on a play that they’re not playing back. They’re pushing forward.”

Castellanos called it back in June when it came to Alabama, as the Tide in fact weren’t saved and couldn’t stop him, let alone anyone else, yesterday. In the victory, Castellanos walked that walk after talking the talk as he went 9-14 (64.3%) for 152 passing yards while also rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown.

“Feels great. Relied on my teammates today, relied on my coaches. They put us in position to go out there and execute and win and we came together today. We heard everything everybody said, we (saw) everything everybody said and that just added fuel to the fire. We went out there and just played ball together … just went out there and executed. That’s it,” Castellanos said postgame. “There’s a reason why I came here. That’s one of the reasons why I came here, for moments like these and days like these. We got a long season ahead — just take it one week at a time and just keep climbing.”

This was the one that, not just because of the opponent but what was said coming in, they had circled in Tallahassee. Now, after proving themselves right, Castellanos could lead the Seminoles to even more now this season, as they’re already halfway to last year’s win total.

“I think Tommy is a remarkable competitor and, you know, I’m just proud of what he’s done up to this point and I’m excited about what he can continue to do and where he can continue to grow,” said Norvell.