CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tommy Castellanos didn’t use the words “Alabama” or “Nick Saban” this time. But he also didn’t back off the charisma that he exudes and his confidence in his Florida State teammates.
A few weeks after his comments to On3 about the FSU-Alabama opener ran wild — a story in which he said, in part: “They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me” — Castellanos didn’t back down at ACC Kickoff and reiterated his comments were not intended to be disrespectful of the Crimson Tide.
“We stand on what I said,” Castellanos said. “I said what I said. We stand on that. I don’t mean no disrespect to none of those guys at Alabama. I have confidence in my guys and the work that we’ve been putting in and the preparation we’ve been putting together.”
How did the Seminoles’ react?
“The next day I walked in, ‘Hey, we’re right behind you. We love it. We like it.’ Just being able to hear that from them, it sparked that type of confidence and that type of camaraderie, it’s exciting,” Castellanos said. “You want your guys to be behind you and to play for you and to play with you. Anything I can do to get my guys prepared and ready to go out there and go to battle, I’ll do it. I’ll do what it takes.”
Castellanos’ original comments took on oxygen and lit quite the fire in what had been a quiet offseason since FSU’s spring practice. They flared up again a week ago when Alabama players were asked about it at SEC Media Days, with Crimson Tide defensive lineman Tim Keenan III fielding a question on Castellanos before leaning into the microphone to deliver an emphatic: “Disrespect will be addressed.”
FSU coach Mike Norvell said he feels Castellanos’ confidence comes from how hard he has worked this offseason and his relationship with teammates.
“I watch him go to work on a daily basis, watch him in meetings,” Norvell said. “The things he’s doing away from the facility and just trying to pour into his teammates to be able to build the relationships for them, to get a sense of who he is and for him to show how much that they mean to him. It’s something that you want to see, especially at that position.
“But he is not going to hold back from what he believes in himself and the team.”
Castellanos smiled often during his interviews at ACC Kickoff on Wednesday. He fielded all of the questions head on. It’s nothing like the pressure he will face head on, up the middle and off the edges, from Alabama’s defense on Aug. 30.
But has Castellanos ramped up the pressure on himself or the Seminoles, an underdog coming off a dreadful season, against one of the top teams in the SEC?
“No. I’ve been playing football my whole life,” Castellanos said. “It’s a game. It’s going to be a lot more people watching. But I’m excited for the opportunity.”
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