It’s okay to admit it now if you absolutely hated Tommy Castellanos’ comments over the summer.
Florida State, trying to do everything in its power to stay out of the spotlight in the wake of a 2-10 debacle last season, was thrust firmly onto center stage when its new quarterback made some bold claims about Alabama in an interview with On3Sports that he was going to have to back up in the team’s season opener.
“They don’t have Nick Saban to save them,” Castellanos said. “I just don’t see them stopping
me.”
Why would you poke the bear? He may not have been a part of FSU’s 2024 season, but he had an up-close look as an opponent at all the problems FSU was dealing with.
Now, the Seminoles would be facing a top-10 opponent that appears much more talented on paper while they would be introducing new offensive and defensive coordinators and a host of new players. And he wanted to add some extra motivation with a barb in Alabama’s side?
In further questioning since his quote went viral, Castellanos has talked about standing by what he said while admitting that it was at least somewhat said to pump some confidence into a program coming off such a disastrous season.
Still, I don’t think that minor retraction would have saved him from the ire of the Alabama and FSU fanbases — along with the college football internet as a whole — if he had not backed up his words very well on Saturday.
But I guess we’ll never know.
In what had to be an all-time cathartic moment for Castellanos — as evidenced by the loud, Ric Flair-esque “WOO” he let out as he entered the FSU postgame press conference room — he was right on both fronts.
The Crimson Tide did not have Nick Saban to save them. And they were certainly not able to stop him. He ran for a team-high 78 yards, threw for 152 more on just nine completions and was one of four Seminoles with a rushing touchdown in the 31-17 win.
After talking the talk in a big way, Castellanos walked the walk on Saturday, handing Alabama its first season-opening loss in 24 years.
And in a response that may explain the impact he’s made within the program, he didn’t make it about himself.
“It feels great,” Castellanos said after the win. “I relied on my teammates today, relied on my coaches, and they put us in position to go out there and execute and win. We came together today. We heard everything everybody said, we saw everything everyone said and we just added that fuel to the fire and we went out there and just played ball together. We just went out there together and executed.”
Execute FSU certainly did. From the jump, the Seminoles showed that not only did they belong on the same field as Alabama, but they were playing at a much higher level.
There was nothing fluky about the win. The same program which (barely) won one FBS game a season was stronger, faster and much better than its top-10 opponent.
All of that isn’t a testament to Castellanos. The new coaches and players, especially in the trenches, that the Seminoles brought in certainly played a role.
But it’s undeniable that he set the standard with his words and his leadership around the program. Just look at how his teammates talk about him.
“That’s my quarterback. If Tommy says we’re going to the moon, I’m strapping in,” FSU linebacker Justin Cryer said. “It doesn’t matter what he says. Honestly, it’s about he’s our quarterback and that man is a dog.”
Added Earl Little Jr., “(His quote) definitely put a lot of confidence in us coming out victorious at the end of the night. At that position, I feel like you need a dog. Him going out and saying that, it shows you that we’ve got a dog at the position. All of the guys are 10 toes behind him, we’re going to keep pushing him forward, he’s going to keep leading us and that’s going to propel us in the future. I’m with it.”
All offseason, FSU head coach Mike Norvell has talked as much about what Castellanos means to the program off the field as what he’s done on it. He’s talked about the effort he put in to get to know his new teammates, and how forcefully he’s established himself as a presence within the locker room.
“I think probably every time I answer (a question about Tommy), I talk about the investment he’s making off the field, I talk about what he’s doing pouring into his teammates,” Norvell said. “He really is a guy that, when he steps on the field, 10 guys on offense are better, and the guys he’s competing against defensively, they support him and embrace all things that he brings.
“He’s got great energy. But it’s not just what he says. That’s where people can get caught up because he’s somebody who’s not afraid to talk and put thoughts out there. He does it with his actions. If Tommy doesn’t say a word, you would still feel the way he plays. I’m grateful he’s willing to put himself out there. We’ve got a lot of guys that have shown up on this team that even in the course of sometimes making a misstep or a mistake or getting beat on a play, they’re not pulling back, they’re pushing forward. I think Tommy is a remarkable competitor. I’m just proud of what he’s done up to this point. I’m excited about what he can continue to do
and where he can continue to grow.“
So maybe it’s not a surprise that Castellanos has made the impact he has. After all, he told it was coming. It’s just that almost no one believed him.
For some reason, I’m thinking the list of doubters will be quite a bit shorter going forward.
