Thomas Castellanos delivers powerful message after backing up trash talk vs. Alabama

Thomas Castellanos made a lot of people eat their words after Florida State upset No. 8 Alabama Saturday evening. The new Seminoles QB led the way in a 31-17 stunner of the Crimson Tide.

Based on the preseason hype, it was all about Alabama and not Florida State. Mike Norvell’s crew proved otherwise.

But Castellanos was the loudest of the bunch over the course of the summer and the Boston College transfer was exactly taken seriously. Doubt him now folks.

“Feels great. Relied on my teammates today, relied on my coaches,” Castellanos said. “They put us in position to go out there and execute and win and we came together today. We heard everything everybody said, we (saw) everything everybody said and that just added fuel to the fire. We went out there and just played ball together … just went out there and executed. That’s it.”

Castellanos was just nine-of-14 passing for 152 yards but ran 16 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. A balanced running attack paved the way for a 24-10 lead going into the fourth quarter and FSU basically never looked back.

“There’s a reason why I came here. That’s one of the reasons why I came here, for moments like these and days like these,” Castellanos said. “We got a long season ahead — just take it one week at a time and just keep climbing.”

In June, Castellanos made headlines when he didn’t back down from the Week 1 challenge against Alabama: “They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.”

It was a breath of fresh air for the Seminoles, who entered last season as the ACC favorite, only to finish the year with a 2-10 record. Now, Florida State is officially back in the national conversation and Castellanos couldn’t be more thankful.

“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,” Norvell said. “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.”

Grant Grubbs contributed to this report