FSU quarterback Thomas Castellanos made headlines when he spoke about FSU's first opponent in the 2025 season a few days ago. His confidence surprised some folks, and others thought he should have kept his mouth closed.
His comments drew a response from Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer: "Remind the world that Alabama is still a premier program, one that will stuff you in a locker if you start feeling too good about yourself."
Alabama will have the more talented team overall, with several defensive players returning from last year's team. However, FSU will have the more experienced and productive quarterback between the two teams.
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That's likely a source of Castellanos's confidence, coupled with the talent FSU has surrounded him with compared to what he had at Boston College. Redshirt junior Ty Simpson is the leading candidate to start at quarterback for the Crimson Tide. Simpson has only appeared in 16 games and has 50 passing attempts and six rushing attempts in three years.
He'll be on the road in a hostile environment with a new offensive coordinator against one of the better defensive coordinators nationally, with an entire offseason to prepare. We saw what Tony White's defense did to Colorado's Shedeur Sanders in 2024.
Thomas Castellanos is a two-year starter with more production in one game than Simpson has in his career. If Alabama rolls anyone else out there besides Simpson, they'll have even less experience.
I doubt Kalen Deboer will ask Simpson to do too much in that game. Alabama will likely take the safe approach and attempt to establish the running game while keeping Simpson in manageable situations. I'd expect Tony White to try to make Simpson beat them with his arm.
FSU will build its offense around Castellanos and his ability to improvise. We've seen this movie before and several variables will be in play. If FSU doesn't turn the ball over and they force Simpson into a couple of turnovers? Things could get spooky in Tallahassee!