Tommy Castellanos, KC Concepcion lead Latinos in Week 1
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Carlos Leon-Trejo, Contributor
- September 1, 2025
See how Latinos performed throughout Division I college football
Latinos played significant roles in some of the biggest games in Week 1 of the College Football season, and Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos may have delivered the biggest statements. Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion was electric, and Miami’s Raul Aguirre Jr. was all over the place against Notre Dame.
Young star Devin Sanchez got his feet wet for Ohio State in the victory over No. 1 Texas. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia continues to make magic. As we begin our 2025 weekly recaps of the top Latino performances in college football, we have to start this week with Castellanos, a Boston College transfer.
Tommy Castellanos led the unranked Seminoles to a 31-17 upset victory over No. 8 ranked Alabama. Castellanos completed 9 of 14 passes. The 5-foot-11, 201-pounder also rushed for 78 yards and scored a touchdown.
Castellanos didn’t shy away from expressing his eagerness to face Alabama, setting the tone for his performance. He also backed up his trash talk. In June he told On3 Sports that he dreamed about playing against Alabama. He even noted that the Crimson Tide didn’t have former legendary coach “Nick Saban to save them.”
Tommy Castellanos backs up boasts
Castellanos wasn’t afraid to proclaim that he didn’t see Alabama stopping him, and he was right. The Waycross, Georgia, native is no stranger to upsets. In his junior year, he led Boston College to a 28-13 upset victory against the No.10 ranked Seminoles in the season opener.
“It felt great,” Castellanos told FSU beat writers. “I relied on my teammates today and relied on my coaches. And they put us in position to go out there and execute and win. We came together today.”
We’ve identified around five dozen Latinos in college football. If we missed anybody, please email carlosleon@ouresquina.com. Here’s how many Latinos performed Saturday:
Raul Aguirre guides Miami D
Miami linebacker Raul Aguirre Jr. played a key role in the victory over Notre Dame. The junior from Fayetteville, Georgia, had a team-high six tackles (five solo). Senior defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio had four tackles for the Fighting Irish.
USC safety Marquis Gallegos had three tackles, two of them for losses, in the 73-13 victory over Missouri State. True freshmen Jadyn Ramos and Gus Cordova each had a tackle in their college debuts for the Trojans.
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Ohio State cornerback Devin Sanchez, the 2025 Latino High School Football Player of the Year, made his college debut. He assisted on one tackle in the 14-7 victory over No. 1 Texas.
Receiver Trebor Peña did a little bit of everything in his Penn State debut. He accounted for 97 all-purpose yards in the 47-11 victory over Nevada. The transfer from Syracuse had seven catches for 74 yards. He added a 13-yard carry and a 10-yard punt return. Linebacker Tony Rojas added three tackles, two for a loss, for Penn State.
Peyton Woodyard had four tackles (three solo) for Oregon in the 59-13 victory over Montana State. Fernando Mendoza led Indiana to a 27-14 victory over Old Dominion in his debut for the Hoosiers. The Cal transfer completed 18 of 31 pass attempts for 193 yards. He also ran for 33 yards and one touchdown on six carries.
Stanford linebacker Wilfredo Aybar had one tackle and a fumble recovery. Transfer receiver Carlos Hernandez had three catches for 20 yards in his debut for Wake Forest.
SMU freshman Zach Hernandez had two carries for nine yards and a lost fumble in a 42-13 victory over East Texas A&M. Quarterback Eric Rodriguez completed 14 of 30 passing attempts for 191 yards with one interception for East Texas A&M.
Josh Cuevas opens the scoring for Alabama
Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas had three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown. He had a 27-yard reception. Cuevas had a two-yard touchdown reception for the Crimson Tide’s first touchdown of the season in the 31-17 loss against Florida State.
Quarterback Joey Aguilar led Tennessee to a 45-26 victory over Syracuse in his debut for the Vols. The App State transfer completed 16 of 28 pass attempts for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 34 yards on six carries. Defensive back Denis Jaquez Jr. had three tackles for Syracuse in the loss.
Cole Gonzales was 8-for-15 on pass attempts for 87 yards and one touchdown off the bench in a 61-9 rout over Duquesne. He also had one carry for two rushing yards.
Oregon State kicker Caleb Ojeda hit a 53-yard field goal in a 34-15 loss against Cal. Auburn freshman Elijah Melendez had one tackle in a 38-24 victory over Baylor. Colorado kicker Alejandro Mata made two field goals, including a long of 42 yards, in a 27-20 loss to Georgia Tech.
Arizona State kicker Jesus Gomez made 1 of 2 field goal attempts with five PATs. The Eastern Michigan transfer hit a 36-yard field goal. He missed a 57-yard field goal attempt in the 38-19 victory over Northern Arizona.
Kansas State safety Gunner Maldonado had one tackle in a 38-35 victory over North Dakota. Luis Rodriguez added a 30-yard field goal and five PATs for the Wildcats. Jacob Rodriguez and Bryce Ramirez each had four tackles (three solo) for Texas Tech in a rout over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
LSU kicker made one of two field goal attempts. He hit a 52-yard field goal in a 17-10 victory over No. 4. Clemson. He missed a 46-yard attempt.
KC Concepcion takes it to the house
KC Concepcion had an electrifying debut at Texas A&M. The NC State transfer had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown in the 42-24 victory over UTSA. He also had a 31-yard touchdown reception. Concepcion had three catches for 72 yards. He had 94 yards over two punt returns.
UTSA sophomore captain David Amador II made three catches for a team-high 41 receiving yards. He also had a nine-yard punt return. Sophomore safety Cyrus Reyes had one tackle in a 34-17 victory over Southern Miss.
Kentucky quarterback Zach Calzada scored a rushing touchdown in a 24-16 victory over Toledo. He also was 10 of 23 on passing attempts for 85 yards and one interception. Calzada also rushed for 14 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown.
Kentucky tight end Willie Rodriguez had two catches for 31 yards. Toledo punter Emilio Duran averaged 37.8 yards over six punts in the loss.
Diego Pavia led Vanderbilt to a 45-3 victory over Charleston Southern. He was 20 of 25 for 275 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 44 yards and eight carries. Air Force kicker Jacob Medina went 6-for-6 on extra points. He helped score six points in the Falcons’ 49-13 victory over the Bucknell Bisons.
Tyler Martinez racks up tackles
Senior linebacker Tyler Martinez had eight tackles (six solo) in New Mexico State’s 19-3 victory over the Bulldogs.
Utah State defensive tackle Gabriel Iniguez Jr. had three tackles in the 28-13 victory against UTEP. Senior defensive tackle Gabriel Lopez has two tackles and half a sack in the Lobos’ 34-17 loss against Michigan.
Bowling Green’s safety Victor Vasquez had one tackle in the Falcons’ 26-7 victory over the Lafayette Leopards. Junior running back Gavin Garcia had 15 carries for 49 yards in Kent State’s 21-17 victory over the Merrimack Warriors.
Freshman defensive back Joel Cordoba had seven tackles (two solo) for the Kent State Flashes. Cordoba, who is of Panamanian heritage, is a versatile two-way player who can also play wide receiver. He was nominated by the New York Giants for the Latino Youth Honors.
Senior wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez had one reception for five yards in JMU’s dominant 45-10 victory over Weber State.
Carlos Leon-Trejo
Contributor
Carlos Leon-Trejo is a co-host on the Bring on the Blitz! podcast on the Our Esquina network. A graduate of the University of Houston-Victoria, Leon-Trejo teaches fifth grade math and science in Houston ISD.
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