In the lead-up to one of the most anticipated matchups of the college football season, Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos made headlines with bold comments about the Alabama Crimson Tide and former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron wasn’t having it.
On his podcast The Dynasty, hosted alongside fellow Crimson Tide legend Trent Richardson and Alabama play-by-play announcer Chris Stewart, McCarron tore into Castellanos’ remarks with the kind of fire and pride one would expect from a national championship-winning quarterback.
Castellanos, in an interview with On3’s Pete Nakos, didn’t hold back his confidence ahead of the Seminoles’ season opener against Alabama on August 30. “I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me,” he said. The FSU QB also warned that Florida State wouldn’t be the same team as last year, boasting new weapons and asserting that defenses won’t be able to sit back and contain him.
While confidence is a key trait for any quarterback, McCarron saw Castellanos’ comments not as bold, but reckless. “Where do you even start?” McCarron began. “You’re going to a team that was 17th out of 17 teams in the ACC. You’re leaving a team and lost the starting job where you finished ninth in the ACC. Listen, I’m all for confidence, but this is stupidity.”
McCarron pointed to Castellanos’ lack of proven success and questioned his judgment in taunting a storied program like Alabama, even without Nick Saban at the helm. He even suggested Castellanos call former Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien for a reality check on what it’s like to face the Crimson Tide.
“You just added fuel to the fire, brother,” McCarron continued. “I wouldn’t want to be you the first game of the year. I don’t care how well you can run, how well you can throw it. Once you stand in that pocket and get hit a couple times, that accuracy that dipped, that cost you the starting job you’d better find it quick.”
McCarron’s comments reflect a broader sentiment among Alabama faithful: Castellanos may have poked the wrong bear. With a talented and proud roster eager to prove themselves post-Saban, the Crimson Tide likely won’t take kindly to trash talk — especially not from a quarterback with little success at the Power Five level.
already a high-stakes showdown between two powerhouse programs.
