Thomas Castellanos benched, stepping away from Boston College for 'a couple of days' per coach Bill O'Brien

Boston College football coach Bill O'Brien announced the benching of quarterback Thomas Castellanos and the veteran quarterback's stepping away from the team on Tuesday.

O'Brien, who is in his first year with the Eagles, named Grayson James the starter for Boston College against No. 13 SMU on Saturday. James took over for Castellanos in the third quarter of last week's 37-31 win over Syracuse. James completed 5-of-6 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown, while Castellanos finished 2-of-7 passing for 14 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

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“Tommy has done a great job for us,” O’Brien said. “He’s an awesome competitor. We have a lot of respect for Tommy. Obviously, he wasn’t really thrilled with that, so he’s taking a couple of days (away from the team), so I’ll get back to you on that one. But Grayson James will be the starter.”

It is not clear when or if Castellanos will return to the team. Castellanos is in his second year with the Eagles and has completed 99-of-161 passes (61.5%) for 1,366 yards, 18 touchdowns, and five interceptions on the season. He also added 93 rushes for 191 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He ran for 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Boston College has been inconsistent in the passing offense at times this season.

Castellanos began his career with UCF in 2022 and appeared in five games with the Knights before transferring to Boston College last season. He is listed as a junior this season and has one more year of eligibility left.

James also started in a 21-20 win over Western Kentucky on Sept. 21, completing 19 of 32 passes for 168 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. James played the last three seasons for FIU before transferring to BC this offseason. He has completed 24 of 38 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He has completed 58.8% of his passes for 2,566 yards, 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for his four-year career.

The Eagles enter Week 12 of the 2024 college football season at 5-4 and need one win over their final three games against SMU, North Carolina and Pitt to qualify for a bowl game in the first season under O'Brien.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thomas Castellanos benched, stepping away from Boston College for 'a couple of days'