“These guys gave me the keys to this place. Boston has accepted me as family.”
Those were Thomas Castellanos’ words in March after he decided to stay with Boston College football amid a head coaching change when Bill O’Brien was hired to replace Jeff Hafley.
It’s a friendly reminder of how quickly things can change in college football—especially in today’s climate.
Just seven months later, those keys were ripped away from Castellanos when O’Brien informed the second-year starting quarterback that he was being benched for Grayson James.
Almost instantly, Castellanos was gone. First, he was “taking a couple of days” on Tuesday. Then, O’Brien said he “will not be traveling with the team to SMU” on Wednesday. And then the nail in the coffin came on Thursday, when On3’s Pete Nakos reported Castellanos plans to enter the transfer portal.
I could sit here and write about how Castellanos is being selfish and hypocritical. How he quit on his team and bolted right when things got hard. How his actions reflect poorly on himself and even the BC program. How his decision is exactly what’s wrong with college football today.
All of those things are true in my opinion, and nearly everyone already thinks that. I don’t think there are many people praising Castellanos’ decision to abandon his teammates—it would be nearly impossible to defend, after all.
BC fans will forever remember Castellanos for this decision. Highlights like “The Path,” the Fenway Bowl victory, or the AP Top-25 appearance earlier this season are now distant memories, fading into irrelevance because of one explosive decision.
But why?
How did Castellanos go from one of the most exhilarating and beloved BC athletes to one who was no longer good enough to see the field?
It starts and ends with O’Brien—a match that was far from perfect. Those “keys” Castellanos mentioned? He never truly had them under the former NFL head coach like he did under Hafley in 2023.
Last season, Castellanos threw for 2,248 yards and 15 touchdowns. But his legs are what made him special, as the dual-threat quarterback ran for 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns, making BC’s offense more dynamic than it had previously been under Hafley.
This season, under O’Brien, Castellanos had thrown for 1,336 yards and 18 touchdowns through eight games before getting benched.
But his rushing ability? Missing. Abandoned. Gone—just like Castellanos is now.
The 5-foot-9 junior had rushed for only 194 yards and one touchdown this season. He also only had one game where he rushed for over 60 yards. Last year, he hit that mark eight times. O’Brien completely took Castellanos’ rushing ability out of the playbook, opting to try to make him into something he’s not—a pocket passer.
The experiment started off well. BC began the season 4–1, and Castellanos showed spurts of his magic from last season. But the winning simply shielded the inevitable fact that Castellanos could never work in O’Brien’s system, despite how the two tried to convince themselves that this forced marriage would work.
“I’ve been very impressed with him,” O’Brien said of Castellanos in the spring. “I think he’s made good decisions, quick decisions … He’s picking up on our offense really well. I’m really excited about Tommy.”
Castellanos showed similar excitement.
“The mentality of what O’Brien has—it’s just what I want,” Castellanos said in the spring.
Neither were lying. They were just blind to what should have been more obvious. Castellanos, coming off a great season, took the high road and decided to stay in Chestnut Hill even after a coaching change. O’Brien returned the favor, constantly praising Castellanos and committed to sticking with him. Going into his first season as BC’s head coach without a quarterback controversy was certainly a nice privilege to have.
But ever since an injury forced Castellanos to sit out BC’s Week 5 matchup against Western Kentucky, he never looked the same, revealing his awkward fit within O’Brien’s system. Since returning, Castellanos’ efficiency plummeted, as his quarterback rating fell from 67.3 to 19.5.
Not only did he lose his ability to rush, but he lost his pocket awareness as well, getting sacked 10 times in his final four games while displaying an inability to throw the ball downfield—a key to O’Brien’s offense.
Insert James. The junior transfer helped the Eagles defeat Syracuse last week after taking over mid-game and kept BC competitive against No.14 Southern Methodist on Saturday. But more importantly, the 6-foot-3 James fits O’Brien’s system much better than Castellanos ever did as a pocket passer with a big arm.
Did O’Brien make the right decision? Of course—Castellanos’ play had given him no choice but to turn to James. And James’ arm helped open up BC’s run game against SMU, making the Eagles offense flow better than it had in weeks with Castellanos under center.
But what does this say about BC’s program? The Eagles’ inability to keep one quarterback on the field for an entire season is certainly not the best look in terms of stability. In 2021 and 2022, injuries to starter Phil Jurkovec forced Dennis Grosel and Emmett Morehead onto the field for a handful of games. And last year, Castellanos replaced Morehead for the remainder of the season before the first game of the season was even over.
And now there’s James, who flashed potential on Saturday but almost certainly won’t be the program’s long-term answer. BC will most definitely bring in a transfer to compete with James throughout the spring and summer, and Eagles fans could very well be seeing another starting quarterback next season.
That’s what college football is all about now. Castellanos can say how much he loved the coaching staff and the fans, but right when things aren’t going perfectly, players can and will leave. Not only is the transfer portal more accessible than ever, but so are the NIL paychecks, which Castellanos will rightfully consider when choosing his next destination.
O’Brien, meanwhile, has consistently preached how a BC degree is even more valuable than NIL.
“If you come to BC and you get a BC degree, then NIL will seem like peanuts to you 10 years down the road,” O’Brien said in September.
Clearly, Castellanos had his own opinions.
So much for proudly declaring “I go to Boston College, so we got class tomorrow” after defeating Florida State on a Monday in Week 1.
Long gone are the days of fans connecting with players when players can turn on their word and leave programs as swiftly as Castellanos did. The disconnect between players and fans has never been greater now that any form of loyalty seems to have been flushed down the drain.
Castellanos’ goodbye message to BC fans only reinforced this when he referenced the “Eagles Nest” multiple times, a phrase almost no one uses to describe the Heights—unless he was referring to the dining hall on the second floor of McElroy Commons.
Castellanos’ benching should have brought initial sadness to Eagles fans. The manner in which he left brought anger and even disappointment. But that’s what we must expect in today’s climate because Castellanos won’t be the last player to do something like this.
