Florida State had as disappointing a season as you’ll ever see last year after entering with a top-10 preseason ranking and finishing with double-digit losses.
The hyped addition of DJ Uiagalelei from Oregon State was supposed to get the Seminoles over the top, but instead he was benched after a 1-4 start that saw the FSU offense crack 20 points just once.
Now with another transfer quarterback in Tallahassee in former Boston College star Tommy Castellanos, the Noles believe they’re back. And he had a message for Alabama ahead of their home opener at Doak Campbell Stadium.
“I’m excited, man. People, I don’t know if they know, but you go back and watch every first game that I played in, we always start fast. I dreamed of moments like this. I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me,” Castellanos said.
“And then the ACC. 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,” the junior warned. “People can’t just sit back in zone coverage and watch me.”
Castellanos was impressive for the Eagles in 2024 under ex-NFL coach Bill O’Brien with an 18:5 touchdown to interception ratio and 4-1 start before it was derailed a bit by three straight losses to Virginia, Virginia Tech and Louisville.
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And while the Crimson Tide certainly didn’t live up to expectations in Kaleb DeBoer’s first year, there was still a big gap between Bama and FSU. But you can still respect Castellanos’ confidence as he takes the Diego Pavia route to this offseason.
The Noles and Tide meet Saturday, Aug. 30 at 3:30 PM ET on ABC.
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