“Nobody’s Scared”: Ex-QB Who Beat Nick Saban’s Alabama Doubles Down on Thomas Castellanos’ Blunt Remarks

It’s far from the fairytale beginning Alabama Crimson Tide fans hoped for after the Nick Saban era. Kalen DeBoer’s opening game for the 2025 season couldn’t have gone much worse, as his Crimson Tide stumbled to a 31-17 defeat at the hands of Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles. The axe isn’t just dangling; it’s swaying dangerously close as the Alabama head coach has already signed up for a brutal task. Thomas Castellanos couldn’t resist tossing shade at DeBoer’s Alabama.

“I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me,” came the Florida State quarterback’s blunt remark a couple of months ago. And guess what? Other than Castellanos, an FSU alum also sent a warning. And it actually proved it to be right after DeBoer’s boys faced a poor fate on August 30, even though not everything was in their hands. But no mercy for Alabama, as now Johnny Manziel doubled down on Castellanos’ take. 

No matter how bitter it might sound, in no way can DeBoer reach Saban’s level. On the August 30th episode of the Nightcap podcast, Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco Johnson invited Manziel as their guest. Playing for Texas A&M, the quarterback defeated Alabama, which was led by Saban at that time. 29-24 in November 2012. But even then, he thinks that the GOAT was the one. He shared, “I think Castellanos for Florida State jumped off the page in every aspect of everything.”

He added, “You know, if you look at what they did, they only threw the ball nine times…The one thing that I will say that I think, in the past, you walk in, face an Alabama team, you probably got a little fear.” Castellanos’ program didn’t need a flashy passing attack to beat Alabama. They ran the ball down Bama’s throat and still put up 31 points with minimal passing. Manziel is surprised to find that this is the same Crimson Tide that used to send chills down their rivals’ spines. That psychological edge of winning six national championships, which often won games before kickoff, goes missing under DeBoer.  

Manziel added, “The team, you got a little fear. That fear aspect of what Alabama is, is completely gone. And nobody’s scared of them boys. Not Vandy, not Kentucky, not nobody. Nobody’s walking in and seeing Alabama on the schedule and having any kind of shake, any kind of fear, nothing.” So, even the bottom-tier SEC teams like Vanderbilt or mid-tier programs like Kentucky don’t circle Alabama on the calendar with dread anymore. Looks like FSU legend’s warning turned out to be right. 

Thomas Castellanos brings fire, and the Alabama Crimson Tide feels the heat

On the TRIALS to TRIUMPH podcast, Florida State alum, fullback Freddie Stevenson, had already raised a warning. He said that the Seminoles had hit the lowest point after going 2-10 last season, which is the 3rd lowest win total for an FSU team in its 71-year history. Maybe that’s what fueled them to take the upper hand of Alabama, which runs weak without Saban at the driver’s wheel.

Stevenson said, “And they’ve been hearing it all off-season. And those guys are going to come in fired up. You got guys like Thomas Castellanos coming, bringing that confidence. Like anybody that came into this season having doubts like, ‘No, we’re coming in and we’re coming in to make a statement.’ And I like it because when you look at the history of Alabama, they struggle with dual-threat quarterbacks.” That’s when Crimson Tide’s ghosts of the past were exposed. 

Even with Saban in charge, Alabama struggled with dual-threat quarterbacks. Back in 2022, Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker’s dual-threat presence crushed the Crimson Tide squad as he came up with 385 passing yards + 56 rushing yards, ending Tennessee’s 15-game losing streak. And did Castellanos carry forward the tradition during his debut game against Alabama?

Absolutely. The quarterback talked a big game this summer about what his Seminoles would do to No.8 Alabama, and he made good on his banter. Thomas Castellanos passed for 152 yards in addition to rushing for 78 yards and a score. And what about the Crimson Tide quarterback? Ty Simpson completed 23 of his 43 pass attempts for 254 yards and two touchdown passes. 

Now, going by the Alabama Crimson Tide quarterbacks’ standards, it feels more “average” than “great.” To change and upgrade himself, Kalen DeBoer had some suggestions for his quarterback. In the post-game conference, he said, “You got to just trust his reads and just cut it loose sometimes. Just let it fly…” The question remains: How much time will it take for Alabama to reignite the Nick Saban-era spark, or should fans accept that the dynasty days may never return?