Mike Norvell breaks silence on Castellanos comments: 'It’s about the work'

Mike Norvell knew he was going to be asked about the comments by quarterback Thomas Castellanos. It was a tough position for Norvell because he's not a guy that deals in trash talk and very, very rarely has a player put him in a position to talk about it.

Jordan Travis was a great leader with a lot of self-confidence, but he usually spoke about his role and put over his teammates. Castellanos felt like he needed to provide motivation for his teammates and, in turn, some bulletin board material for the Crimson Tide going into their Week 1 showdown. 

Norvell did his best to navigate through the Castellanos question, and he quickly pivoted on what he felt would inevitably be the deciding factor in the quarterback's success - work.

"Tommy is a young man that...he pours everything he has into what's in front of him," Norvell said. "It's something I'm grateful for. I watch him go to work on a daily basis. I watch him in meetings. I see him."

"The things he's doing away from the facility and just trying to pour into his teammates to be able to build relationships for them, to be able to get a sense of who he is and to show how much they mean to him is something you want to see at that position."

This is the path most of us expected Norvell to take. He's not going to completely endorse the comments because that's not who he is. But he will endorse the player and, with the situation FSU is currently in, Norvell understands that he has to ride with Castellanos this season and accept his personality as part of the package. 

"He's not going to hold back from what he believes in himself and the team," Norvell continued. "It's one thing to have people that will say what they desire, but for me, it comes down to the work, it comes down to the investment."

As long as Castellanos is putting in the sweat equity, Norvell will gladly have his back. Right now, the coach feels like the player has fully bought in and that's all that matters.