Bill O’Brien criticizes QB Thomas Castellanos for leaving Boston College midseason

Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien didn’t hold back when discussing Thomas Castellanos’ midseason departure from the team.

In an interview with CBS’s Andrea Kremer, O’Brien reflected on the circumstances that led to the quarterback’s decision to leave the program and ultimately enter the transfer portal.

“We brought in Castellanos and told him we were calling him up to the second team and that he should see this as an opportunity to sit back, learn, improve, work hard and be ready. He didn’t like it and left the team,” O’Brien said.

Kremer then asked if situations like this had occurred more often in college athletics, to which O’Brien answered candidly. “Ninety-nine percent of our guys are tough and smart. He was an outlier in BC.”

The Castellanos situation marks another chapter in the evolving world of college football, where the transfer portal has become an increasingly popular tool for athletes seeking new opportunities. For Castellanos, the move from Boston College followed a step down from his starting role, which was given to Grayson James at the start of the season.

While Castellanos has shown potential – such as his performance in Boston College’s Labor Day win over Florida State – his lack of consistency and injury history raise concerns. As he plans his next steps, speculation continues as to which program might take a chance on the dual-threat quarterback.

Castellanos is ready to land somewhere, but the ever-growing problems with players leaving teams and the obvious problems with tampering and out-of-control NIL wars will eventually be fixed in college football. We can’t live in the Wild West forever, without rules or structure. It’s just not sustainable.

While Castellanos’ situation isn’t quite the same, it shouldn’t become the norm in college athletics for a player to leave his team midway through the season, but it could very well be the direction we’re headed if things won’t change soon.

Boston College will end its 2024 season with a home game against Pittsburgh. The Eagles are currently 6-5 overall and 3-4 in the ACC.