Steve Spurrier raves about play of Florida State QB Thomas Castellanos in upset of Alabama

There were a few surprising results over the first full weekend of the 2025 college football season. That included the Florida State Seminoles and quarterback Thomas Castellanos backing their offseason talk and upsetting Alabama.

Castellanos even caught the eye of Florida Gators legend Steve Spurrier. He appeared on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. There, Spurrier praised Castellanos, particularly for how he ran the football.

“Castellanos,” Steve Spurrier said. “I had to write that down. We didn’t get to see them [Boston College] much, but man, can he run with the ball. He runs smart. He gets all he can, and he dives forward. The Clemson quarterback, they teach him to slide, so he runs and makes about eight yards. Falls on his butt and loses two, three yards. All you gotta do is dive forward. They won’t hit you when you dive low on the ground. So, I like the way he ran with the ball. He got those extra two to three yards.”

Throughout his career, Castellanos has been known as a running quarterback. It’s one of his strengths as a player, and part of what seems to make him a good fit with new Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. In the win over Alabama, he rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown. That was after he threw for 152 yards.

Ultimately, Spurrier sees plenty of reason to invest in a quarterback who runs well. After all, when they do so, there’s an extra blocker on the field, and it evens out the competition.

“The quarterback run, I was just listening to Ricky Neuheisel on his radio show. That gives you an extra guy on the field,” Spurrier said. “When the quarterback runs, you’ve got an extra guy to carry the ball. So, look for that. Haynes King, the Georgia Tech kid, ran for about 157 [yards] against Colorado. I think he carried it 20-something times, and he’s a good, hard, tough runner. That’s probably the big reason they won that game.”

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

Thomas Castellanos has been receiving praise from all corners following the win over Florida State. That includes from his head coach, Mike Norvell, who noted just how invested he’s been in the program since getting to Florida State.

“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. You know, he really is a guy that, when he steps on the field, you know, ten guys on offense are better,” Norvell said.

“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. 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.”

Now, Castellanos and Florida State need to avoid a letdown and ride this momentum moving forward. That starts next week against East Texas A&M.