Florida State football made headlines for all the wrong reasons last season. Finishing 2-10, the Seminoles were a dumpster fire. For the upcoming 2025 season, new starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos is going to try to make sure that doesn't happen again.
While the offseason has been a quiet one for the Seminoles, Castellanos made quite a few front pages Monday after his interview with On3’s Pete Nakos, where he more or less called out Alabama, Kalen DeBoer and his previous team, Boston College.
"I'm excited, man. People, I don't know if they know, but you go back and watch every first game that I played in, we always start fast," Castellanos said. "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.
"And then the ACC. I feel like I tore the ACC up by my damn self for the last two years, and now I'm with a squad. I hope people don't think that Florida State is going to be the same team it was last year because we have weapons. People can't just sit back in zone coverage and watch me."
In his 13-game appearances in 2023, Castellanos finished seventh in the ACC in passing yards with 2,248, eighth in touchdowns with 15, and 11th in completion percentage at 57.3%. He was second in interceptions with 16. However, he did run for 1,113 yards with another 13 touchdowns. In his limited time with the Eagles last season, he threw for just 1,366 yards and five touchdowns, completing 61.5% of his passes, and rushed for 194 yards and one touchdown.
Castellanos also talked about where he and Boston College coach Bill O'Brien had a falling out.
"Bill O’Brien and I butted heads early in the season. I got banged up a few games. We had a meeting, and it kind of blew up in my face. I did so much for that program, and I just wasn’t repaid the right way."
According to CBS Sports' Robby Kalland, don't be surprised if Castellanos has made a target out of himself this season now—especially against Alabama and Boston College (although they don't face each other in 2025).
"In case the Crimson Tide were in need of any additional motivation for the opener at FSU, they certainly have it now," Kalland wrote. "If Castellanos doesn't ball out against Alabama, he's going to become a meme with haste, and that 'they don't have Nick Saban to save them' line is going to be plastered on graphics all over social media. Boston College fans will also be watching for some Castellanos schadenfreude since he clearly felt he was a one-man band in Chestnut Hill."
If FSU was looking for buzz, it certainly got some. Perhaps not in the way they or head coach Mike Norvell might have been looking for, though.
A ton is riding on Norvell and staff this season, and as Castellanos also said, he came there to "save jobs" as well. Granted, finishing better than two wins is an easy measuring stick, but this is still Florida State football—a program that expects to be an elite one season in and season out.