Florida State’s Thomas Castellanos addresses Alabama comments

Thomas Castellanos is a confident quarterback, and he’s hoping that confidence translates to his new football program, the Florida State Seminoles.

FSU is a traditional college football powerhouse, but the Seminoles are still smarting after a rough 2-10 campaign in head coach Mike Norvell’s fifth season in Tallahassee. 

Norvell brought in Castellanos via the transfer portal from Boston College in hopes that he could quickly help turn the Seminoles around, and the senior quarterback from Waycross, Georgia, has made waves across the college football landscape before even taking an official snap.

Castellanos made a bold statement back in June about Florida State’s first game of the season against the Alabama Crimson Tide. He mentioned that he was excited about the opportunity to not just play Alabama, but play well against the Crimson Tide.

“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 told Pete Nakos of On3.

That was the viral moment, but it’s worth noting that Castellanos has not backed down.

“We stand on what I said,” Castellanos said at the ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday, according to On3. “I said what I said and we stand on that. I don’t mean no disrespect to none of those guys at Alabama or nothing like that. It was just I have confidence in my guys, the work we’ve been putting in, preparing, and the preparation we’ve been putting together. So, that’s all that was. No disrespect to those guys but we stand on what I said.”

Castellanos will get the chance to back up his words on the field on Aug. 30 when the Seminoles play host to the Crimson Tide. Until then, it’s just talk, but you can’t accuse the new FSU quarterback of not being confident.

In the past two seasons at Boston College, he threw for 3,614 yards and 33 touchdowns compared to 19 interceptions. 

He’s also a dual-threat quarterback, and the Seminoles will ask him to use his legs in 2025. Under former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley in 2023, Castellanos rushed 215 times for 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Bill O’Brien took over as head coach in 2024, and he didn’t utilize Castellanos as a rusher, so those rushing numbers took a tumble. The Castellanos rushed just 93 times in 2024 for 194 yards and a touchdown.

The talent to be a massive dual-threat quarterback is there, though. 

So is the confidence to be a star.