It doesn’t appear the bold comments made by Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos are going to fade quietly. The former Boston College signal-caller took a pointed jab at Alabama last month in an interview with On3 — a shot that clearly didn’t go unnoticed, especially in Tuscaloosa. And now, former Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron is firing back.
“Where do you even start?” McCarron said this week on THE DYNASTY podcast. “You’re going to a team that was 17th out of 17 teams in the ACC. You’re leaving a team and lost the starting job where you finished ninth in the ACC. Listen, I’m all for confidence, but this is stupidity.”
Castellanos was referring to Florida State’s Week 1 matchup against Alabama in Tallahassee when he boldly claimed, “They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.” He also touted his past ACC production, saying he “tore the ACC up by my damn self” and warning that Florida State now has “weapons” after ranking fourth-worst nationally in scoring offense last season. But those comments didn’t sit well in Tuscaloosa, especially with McCarron.
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McCarron invoked Bill O’Brien — the current Boston College head coach and former Alabama offensive coordinator — as someone who could’ve offered Castellanos a much-needed reality check.
“Just ask if he still has a relationship, which I doubt he does because he yanked him from his starting job, but Bill O’Brien,” McCarron said. “Call him up. Ask Bill how Alabama is, what type of players they have, how they play the game. And let [O’Brien] tell you, ‘Hey, Thomas, you might want to stay quiet on this one. Just go out and play.'”
McCarron has plenty of credibility to speak on the matter as a three-time BCS national champion at Alabama, including back-to-back titles as the starting quarterback in 2011 and 2012. He remains the program’s all-time leader in passing yards (9,019) and ranks third in touchdown passes (77).
Castellanos started 20 games for Boston College the past two seasons, throwing for 3,614 yards with 33 touchdowns and 19 interceptions while completing 58.6% of his passes. He was more effective on the ground, rushing for 1,307 yards and 14 touchdowns. Castellanos led all FBS quarterbacks with 13 rushing touchdowns during the 2023 campaign.
He left Boston College in November 2024 after losing the starting job before transferring to Florida State in December.
“You just added fuel to the fire,” McCarron continued. “Brother, I promise you, I wouldn’t want to be you the first game of the year. I don’t care how well you can run, how well you can throw it. Once you stand in that pocket and get hit a couple times — that accuracy that dipped, that cost you the starting job — you’d better find it quick this offseason and during that game, because it ain’t gonna be good.”
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