When word of Tommy Castellanos' pending addition to the Texas Tech football team started to surface, talking heads and social media experts assumed he was coming in to be the Red Raiders' starting quarterback.
That was never the case. And when Castellanos' signing was finalized, Texas Tech's press release went so far as to say why the Florida State transfer was joining the team: to back up Will Hammond
.Teams aren't going to parade around a quarterback as the starter all preseason only to have him supplanted by a new import the week of the first game. Hammond's job as Texas Tech's starter was never in question in the Womble Football Center. Still, head coach Joey McGuire and some of Tech's rostered veterans such as Ben Roberts and Sheridan Wilson
had the conversation with Hammond about the move.
"Will had already known what was going on," McGuire said, "but I wanted those two guys to know exactly what was going on and what we were doing. This day and age, you don't deal with as many athletes as you used to like Will Hammond. One of the comments he made was, if something happens to me, I would hate that for Ben Roberts, Sheridan Wilson in their senior year, and that just kind of tells you about Will Hammond because most people, athletes that you deal with today, they are thinking more about themselves than the team.
"And, man, we've got a leader in Will Hammond that's thinking about the team and how he can help us, whether he's on or off the field."
Hammond is coming off of a torn ACL suffered in late October against Oklahoma State. Before his own injury, as he was spelling an also-injured Behren Morton, some Tech fans were calling for Hammond to be the starter. That was the plan for the 2026 season before Hammond's injury. Then the dominoes started to fall, going from Brendan Sorsby and now back to Hammond, who was cleared for competition much quicker than McGuire initially planned.
Adding Castellanos, some figured, was Tech's belief that Hammond may not be the guy. Those people aren't around Hammond, or the program, enough to know that was never the case.
"It was a great conversation," Hammond said, "and I think it's important to bring someone like that in. Just for the depth in the room and to just add more value to the offense."
Hammond's ability to run was one of the trademarks fans pointed to in calling from him to leapfrog Morton last season. Coming off a knee injury, offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said Hammond's legs will be utilized, but they don't want to push it too much. Castellanos, meanwhile, can be used in such situations, something the Red Raiders are accounting for him the addition.
"He's a really cool guy," Hammond said of Castellanos. "He's a fiery guy, got a lot of energy, and we're excited to have him in the room and bring him in. We're doing everything we can to get him up to speed and just bring him in as family."
Hammond's steely resolve has been apparent in his first two years in a Red Raider uniform. For the first time in his career, he'll enter Week 1 as the starting quarterback when Texas Tech christens Galaxy Stadium against Abilene Christian.
"This is a dream of mine," Hammond said, "and I was thinking back last night to year one, week one, year two, week one, and just kind of the excitement leading up to each of those games, and the excitement that we have this week leading up to this game.
"It's just a special opportunity to be the starting quarterback for Texas Tech University, be able to represent this team, this university, and we've got a special group of guys and we're excited to share that for y'all."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Why QB1 Will Hammond welcomed Tommy Castellanos' addition to Texas Tech football
