Florida State will kick off the season against the Alabama Crimson Tide. That’s a huge test for the Seminoles, especially coming off such a disappointing 2-10 campaign.
Last month, a little fuel was added to the fire for the game when Seminoles’ quarterback Thomas Castellanos said that Alabama didn’t have legendary coach Nick Saban to save them and that he couldn’t wait to play. Well, Crimson Tide defensive tackle Tim Keenan didn’t like what Castellanos said.
“Disrespect will be addressed,” said Keenan.
The 2025 ACC Kickoff Conference took place on Wednesday. Of course, the elephant in the room was going to be addressed once Castellanos took the podium. If anyone was expecting him to back off what he said, they were sadly mistaken. In fact, he doubled down on his comments.
“We stand on what I said. But there’s no disrespect between that team or anything like that. It’s just the confidence that I have in my teammates and the way we’ve been preparing and putting this preparation together this off-season, I just feel confident in the guys and the work that we’ve been putting in.
“Just feel confident in me and my teammates and Coach Norvell and how he’s getting us ready to work and ready to go play.”
This is the right attitude to have from Castellanos as the quarterback at Florida State. Yes, last season was a disaster. However, every year is different and the Seminoles have a revamped coaching staff and a plethora of talented players coming from the 2025 cycle that have a chance to make an impact early.
Castellanos started building chemistry with guys like Duce Robinson, Squirrel White, and freshman Jayvan Boggs. Also, playing under offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, whose system fits his playing style as a dual-threat quarterback, will be a great switch for Castellanos after clashing with Bill O’Brien at Boston College.
Back in 2022, Castellanos was at UCF when Malzahn was the head coach there. That familiarity was a huge reason why Castellanos ended up back with Malzahn at Florida State.
“Being a part of Florida State is a dream come true. It’s been my dream school since I was a kid. When they called and then Coach Gus Malzahn called, I thought it was the right thing to do to be back with him and be a part of Florida State and Coach Norvell.”
The fireworks will be plentiful once Florida State and Alabama take the field on Aug. 30 in Doak Campbell Stadium.
Contact/Follow us @FSUWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Matthew on X @StarConscience
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Florida State QB Thomas Castellanos doubles down on Alabama comments
Reporting by Matthew Lenix , FSU Wire / FSU Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
