Boston College QB Thomas Castellanos expected to enter transfer portal

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos is expected to enter the transfer portal, On3 has learned. The former UCF transfer emerged as one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the ACC the last two seasons.

Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien announced a change at starting quarterback on Tuesday, announcing that Grayson James will be the new starter over Castellanos.

“Tommy has done a great job for us,” O’Brien said. “He’s an awesome competitor. We have a lot of respect for Tommy. Obviously, he wasn’t real thrilled with that so he’s taking a couple days (away from the team), so I’ll get back to you on that one. But, Grayson James will be the starter.”

O’Brien announced Wednesday on his Zoom call that Castellanos had not rejoined the team and will not be traveling with Boston College to SMU. The quarterback was key in Boston College’s 4-1 start to the season, knocking off Florida State in Week 1 and picking up a win over Michigan State.

James entered the game last week against Syracuse in the third quarter and helped lead a 37-31 victory. BC is one game away from reaching bowl eligibility.

In his second year with the school, Castellanos improved his numbers from 2023. In eight games this year, Castellanos had 1,366 yards, 18 touchdowns, five interceptions, a 61.5% completion percentage, 194 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.

Castellanos decided to stay at BC after Jeff Hafley left the school and accepted the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator job. He helped the Eagles win the Fenway Bowl last season, throwing for 2,248 yards and finishing with 28 total touchdowns in 2023.

He finished the 2023 season as the sixth ACC QB since 1996 (joining Lamar Jackson, who did it twice) to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000.