When the Florida State Seminoles and Alabama Crimson Tide meet on August 30, it will be a matchup between two programs in need. Kalen DeBoer’s first year in Tuscaloosa was far from impressive and the pressure is now on him. Meanwhile, the Seminoles must turn the page after an awful 2024 NCAA season.
It’s set to be a bloodbath in Tallahassee. Needless to say, the 2025 college football campaign will start with a bang. DeBoer and the Crimson Tide no longer get a pass for it being the first season after Nick Saban’s departure. Meanwhile, the Seminoles’ leash isn’t any longer and Tommy Castellanos knows it.
The senior-year quarterback transferred from Boston College to Florida State and hasn’t stopped making noise since arriving in North Florida. The main target of his comments? None other than Alabama, the mecca of college football. Ahead of the opening week showdown, Castellanos has taken yet another shot at DeBoer and the ‘Script A’.
“I think Coach [Tony] White and our defense is the hardest defense I’ll see all year,” Tommy Castellanos said, per On3. “Just schematically and stuff like that, what they do. It’s hard to be that good. A lot of moving parts on their end, but it’s helped me a lot and helped me be better and helped me progress as a quarterback and as a player. Stuff like that. Know when the play is over.”
Castellanos continues to poke the bear, but he better be careful what he wishes for. Or, as the saying goes, he better be ready to walk his talk when the Crimson Tide comes to town in late August.
A walk down memory lane
Castellanos has been a vocal leader for the Seminoles from the minute he set foot in Tallahassee. However, Florida State didn’t enroll a motivational speaker, it wants a bona fide starting quarterback who can guide the school to glory in college football. Soon, the NCAA season will get underway and Castellanos’ words will be put to the test. Still, the 21-year-old (who will turn 22 on August 26) isn’t nervous.
“I feel like I’m probably the best I’ve ever been,” Castellanos added. “I’ve got a lot of experience. My job is to be here now and just to try and get this thing back to where Florida State football used to be. That’s my biggest goal.
“I just want to go out there and play football, have fun with the guys, and win. I’m blessed, I look back at where I came from and where I am now. I’m the starting quarterback at Florida State, which means a lot to me”.
Previous warning shots
Castellanos has been going at DeBoer and Bama all summer long. Perhaps it served him well to calm the nerves ahead of such a crucial year, but if the Seminoles are exposed on home ground by the Tide, those words will come back to bite Castellanos and company.
“I dreamed of moments like this. I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them,” Castellanos had said back in June. “I just don’t see them stopping me.”
Conference on notice
Warning shots weren’t exclusive to Alabama, though. The Boston College transfer had words for the rest of the ACC, too, where two heavy favorites for the national title reside: the Miami Hurricanes and Clemson Tigers.
“I feel like I tore the ACC up by my damn self for the last two years, and now I’m with a squad. I hope people don’t think that Florida State is going to be the same team it was last year because we have weapons. People can’t just sit back in zone coverage and watch me,” the quarterback firmly said earlier in the summer.
Patience is key. If Castellanos is honest in his statement, he’ll have the chance to prove himself when he takes on Miami at home and Clemson on the road later in the season.