Former Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos has committed to Florida State, he posted Wednesday night on social media.

Castellanos, who left the Eagles after losing his starting job in November, has one year of remaining eligibility. His commitment to the Seminoles marks an early transfer portal win for coach Mike Norvell and forges a reunion for Castellanos with recently hired Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who previously coached Castellanos at UCF.

Castellanos was a two-year starter at Boston College, starting 12 games as a sophomore under coach Jeff Hafley in 2023 before retaining the role under first-year coach Bill O’Brien this fall. Castellanos appeared in eight games in 2024, completing 61.5% of his passes for 1,366 yards and 18 touchdowns with five interceptions, but he left the program in the final weeks of the regular season after he was replaced by junior Grayson James in the program’s 37-31 win over Syracuse on Nov. 9.

“Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like,” Castellanos wrote in a statement posted to X on Nov. 14. “I will trust in God and his plan for me on my journey.”

The first Boston College player to record 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season, Castellanos lands at Florida State as an intriguing dual-threat weapon about to join a Seminoles offense set to undergo a makeover under Malzahn after finishing the 2024 regular season at No. 132 nationally in total offense (270.3 yards per game).

The 5-foot-9, 196-pound passer from Waycross, Ga., initially committed to Malzahn and UCF as a three-star prospect in the Class of 2022. He appeared in five games for the Knights as a freshman, completing five passes for 75 yards before transferring to Boston College after the 2022 season.

Castellanos claimed the starting job with the Eagles in 2023 and led the program to a 7-6 record last fall, totaling 2,248 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while adding 1,113 rushing yards and another 13 scores on the ground.

Castellanos remained in the starting role under O’Brien and guided Boston College to a 3-1 start in 2024. But Castellanos was never a natural fit in O’Brien’s offense, and the Eagles followed their strong start with losses in three of their next four games. Castellanos’ completion percentage dropped below 50% in his final two games prior to his mid-November departure.

Castellanos will arrive at Florida State with a clear path to the starting job in 2025, following transfer DJ Uiagalelei as a potential answer at the position after the Seminoles’ 2-10 finish in 2024.

Uiagalelei was benched just five games into his debut season at Florida State after transferring from Oregon State. Redshirt freshman Brock Glenn and true freshman Luke Kromenhoek split starting duties for the remainder of the season.

Kromenhoek, ESPN’s No. 159 overall prospect and the No. 7 pocket passer in the 2024 class, entered the transfer portal earlier this week. The Seminoles signed four-star 2025 quarterback Kevin Sperry (No. 132 in the 2025 ESPN 300) during the early signing period last week.

Boise State quarterback Malachi Nelson, the former No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2023, intends to enter the transfer portal, his manager, Justin Giangrande, told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Thursday.

Nelson began his college career at USC in 2023 and appeared in three games with the Broncos this fall after transferring to Boise State earlier this year. The former five-star passer will enter the transfer portal with three years of eligibility remaining.

A once-coveted prospect in the quarterback pipeline of coach Lincoln Riley, Nelson’s career has yet to take off in two seasons at the college level. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound passer was one of two five-star recruits in USC’s 2023 class, but Nelson took just four snaps during his debut campaign before entering the transfer portal last December after his freshman season.

Nelson attracted interest from a long list of high-profile programs upon entering the transfer portal. He committed to Boise State in January, arriving with the opportunity to compete for the Broncos’ starting job under first-year coach Spencer Danielson after quarterback Taylen Green‘s transfer to Arkansas.

Nelson ultimately lost out in a fall camp quarterback battle with redshirt sophomore Maddux Madsen, who completed 62% of his passes for 2,714 yards and 22 touchdowns with three interceptions during the regular season while guiding Boise State to a College Football Playoff berth alongside Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty. Nelson made three appearances off the bench in a series of blowout wins, completing 12 of 17 passes for 128 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.

As the nation’s top-ranked high school prospect, Nelson threw for 2,898 yards and 35 touchdowns in his senior season at California’s Los Alamitos High School and closed his high school career as the back-to-back California Gatorade Player of the Year. Nelson initially committed to USC in November 2021 over offers from Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame, among others.

Former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is returning to the country roads where he experienced his greatest success as a head coach, with the school announcing he was rejoining the program Thursday.

Rodriguez, the current head coach at Jacksonville State, spent seven seasons at West Virginia (2001-07), which included three straight 10-win campaigns and a Sugar Bowl win over Georgia in 2006. He had West Virginia on the cusp of the Bowl Championship Series title game in his final year before an upset loss to Pittsburgh. After that loss, Rodriguez left for Michigan in a tense split, including a legal battle over his buyout.

Rodriguez, 61, is a West Virginia native, which made the bitterness of his departure sting even worse but makes his return home powerful.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be the head football coach at West Virginia University,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “My family and I are filled with gratitude to lead the Mountaineer football program again and look forward to working with the many supporters, fans, and friends to build the best football program in America! Take Me Home!”

As West Virginia’s search for a replacement for the fired Neal Brown unfolded, Rodriguez emerged as the favorite. He has led Jacksonville State to back-to-back 9-4 seasons and guided the school to the Conference USA title this season with a resounding 52-12 win over Western Kentucky in the championship game.

He takes over a school in a vastly different place than when he left nearly two decades ago, as Rodriguez dominated the Big East during his tenure at West Virginia. Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, West Virginia has had only one 10-win season. The school hasn’t been nationally ranked in the AP poll since 2018.

The return of Rodriguez was expected to bring an uptick in support, as West Virginia operated with one of the lower NIL budgets in the Big 12 during Brown’s tenure. Though Rodriguez’s departure left some divisiveness, it will galvanize a significant segment of fans and donors.

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Rich Rodriguez and his family back home,” athletic director Wren Baker said in a statement. “Coach Rodriguez understands what it takes to win at West Virginia, and I believe he will pour his heart, soul and every ounce of his energy into our program.”

The homecoming also will give West Virginia an adrenaline jolt of relevancy, as Rodriguez’s return will be one of the buzziest and most nostalgic stories in college football in 2025. His first marquee game would be against nemesis Pitt on Sept. 13 in Morgantown.

Rodriguez struggled to find the same level of success after West Virginia. His three years at Michigan ended in infamy, as he was 15-22. He then was hired by Arizona but had mixed results in his six years, going 43-35. He led the Wildcats to the Fiesta Bowl in 2014, and Arizona played in the Pac-12 title game that year and upset No. 2 Oregon in Eugene during the regular season.