Tommy Castellanos pulls off stunning TD pass to give FSU halftime lead
Published:
Tommy Castellanos can be dazzling with the football in his hands, whether he’s showing off his arm or his ability to gash defenses with his legs.
The Florida State quarterback often does both during the same game. But in the final seconds of the first half of Saturday’s Week 7 home contest against Pittsburgh, he happened to bring out both qualities on the very same play. With the 25th-ranked Seminoles stuck in a 14-14 tie with the pesky Panthers, Florida State had the ball at Pitt’s 25-yard line with a chance to make something happen before heading into the locker room.
FSU made something happen. Specifically, Castellanos did, using his legs and his arm. He took the snap and amazingly avoided a sack by scurrying away from a potential sack off an edge rush. Then Castellanos did something really crazy, flipping the ball sidearm toward the end zone on the 2nd-and-10 play.
It wasn’t a Hail Mary pass. It was a pass that was meant for sophomore tight end Landen Thomas, who was waiting for the insane flip throw near the goal line. Thomas had position on the Pittsburgh defensive player, and he used that position to snatch the ball while he tumbled into the end zone for a touchdown that gave FSU a stunning 21-14 halftime lead.
There were 6 seconds left in the half when Castellanos pulled off this latest high-wire act:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
