TALLAHASSEE – Florida State senior quarterback Tommy Castellanos is on the Maxwell Award Watch List, presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football.
 
Castellanos, from Waycross, Georgia, transferred to Florida State in December after starting 20 games for Boston College in 2023-24 and appearing in five games at UCF in 2022. For his career, Castellanos is 297-for-507 passing for 3,689 yards and 33 touchdowns, while adding 1,427 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
 
Castellanos became the first player in Boston College history with 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season in 2023, throwing for 2,248 yards and adding 1,113 yards on the ground. He accounted for 28 total touchdowns in 2023. In 2024, Castellanos started the Eagles’ first eight games of the season and recorded 18 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions, accounting for at least one touchdown in all eight games.
 
In the 2023 Fenway Bowl, Castellanos was named the game MVP after rushing for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns in a win over SMU. He had five 100-yard rushing games in 2023, including a 142-yard, four-touchdown performance against Army.
 
Castellanos spent his freshman season in 2022 at UCF, where current FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was the head coach. He completed nine passes for 75 yards and ran 14 times for 120 yards and one touchdown in limited action with the Knights.
 
The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and will celebrate its 89^th recipient in 2025. Three finalists will be announced November 25 with the winner named as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 11.
 
Castellanos and the Seminoles open the 2025 season in the renovated Doak Campbell Stadium on August 30 at 3:30 p.m. against Alabama. The contest will air nationally on ABC.