Thomas Castellanos is not backing down from the way he views Alabama.
The new Florida State quarterback appeared at ACC media days on Tuesday and was immediately asked about what he said in a summer interview with On3. In it, Castellanos said he was excited for his first game with the Seminoles in Week 1 against the Crimson Tide and that “they don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.”
Tuesday, Castellanos kept that confidence. The Crimson Tide went 9-4 in Kalen DeBoer’s first season in 2024 and ended the season with a ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Michigan.
“We stand on what I said,” Castellanos 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 offseason. I just feel confident in the guys and the work that we’ve been putting in.”
The former Boston College quarterback transferred to Tallahassee after the 2024 season and is tasked with upgrading the porous quarterback play that plagued Florida State last season. The Seminoles were 2-10 and averaged just 15 points per game as the offense was one of the worst in the country.
After starting his career at UCF, Castellanos played two seasons at Boston College. He opened the 2024 season as the Eagles’ starter but lost his starting job early in November in a game against Syracuse after he was just 2-of-7 passing in the first half. Not long after he lost his starting job, Castellanos left the team and said he would enter the transfer portal.
He arrives at Florida State along with former UCF coach Gus Malzahn, the man who recruited him to UCF. Malzahn left his job at UCF for the FSU offensive coordinator job after the 2024 season.
“We have an opportunity here to really do something special, and I think that his focus is there on the offensive side of the ball, and he’s one of the best that have ever done it,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said of Malzahn on Tuesday.
“But he also brings perspective as a big picture, to continue to challenge every element within the organization, just to push to be the best, to be able to accomplish and do some of the things that he’s been able to do on his journey and what we all aspire to be.”