If anybody understands what it takes to be a great college football quarterback, it’s AJ McCarron, not Boston College cast-off turned Florida State starter Thomas Castellanos. The two-time national champion quarterback did it all with the Tide, and now, as a media personality, he’s not pulling any punches when talking about Castellanos' offseason comments regarding his former program’s place in college football without Nick Saban.
Last month, Castellanos, now on his third team and looking to revive a FSU program that sank to the bottom of the ACC last season, called out Alabama ahead of their Week 1 matchup, saying in an interview with On3, among other things, “They don’t have Saban to save them.”
Naturally, this lit up social media and has been one of the dominant stories of the offseason, but more than anger, most Alabama fans have simply scoffed at Castellanos, knowing that it’ll be resolved on the field in Tallahassee. However, McCarron finally said what everyone in Tuscaloosa has been thinking:
Former Alabama QB AJ McCarron responds to FSU QB Thomas Castellanos’ comments about Alabama. pic.twitter.com/RDfyxhVJ72
— Grant (@NMDgrant) July 6, 2025
Former Alabama QB blasts Florida State starter ahead of Week 1 matchup
The full video is included above, but the money quote that has been all over the internet since this recording of The Dynasty podcast is: “Listen, I’m all for confidence, but this is stupidity.”
My personal favorite is: “Brother, I promise you I wouldn’t want to be you (in the) first game of the year.”
Alabama is already slated to be a heavy favorite on the road in Week 1, but as McCarron said, Castellanos’s comments have only added fuel to the fire of a program that was already desperate to prove that it could succeed in the post-Saban era. A late-season meltdown against Oklahoma kept the Tide out of the College Football Playoff in Year 1 under Kalen DeBoer, so there was already an expectation that his team would come out hungry to re-establish itself as a preeminent national powerhouse with the national spotlight on them in Week 1. Castellanos ensured that he won’t catch Alabama sleepwalking into the season-opener, unprepared for his dual-threat attack.
Castellanos is a talented player, and he had more success at Boston College before Bill O’Brien arrived with his pro-style proclivities. He’s an ideal fit with new FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and could be in for a major bounceback, but he should’ve let his play do the talking. McCarron has proven everything in college football and was the perfect person to call Castellanos out for it.