Alabama WR mimicking Thomas Castellanos in practice ahead of Florida State

Alabama football’s wide receiver, Jaylen Mbakwe is back working with the Crimson Tide’s defense this week as a scout-team quarterback.

Mbakwe is imitating Florida State’s shifty 5-foot-11, 200-pound quarterback, Thomas Castellanos, this week. The Alabama wideout is listed at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, which makes his frame very similar to Castellanos.

The former five-star is also just as shifty as the Florida State signal caller as a quarterback.

Alabama’s linebacker, Deontae Lawson loves the look Mbakwe is giving the Tide ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

“He brings some energy, tell (us) we can’t tackle him, things like that, just try to get us going,” Lawson said. “We love the looks we’ve been getting. We’re looking forward to it throughout the week.”

Ryan Williams has been on the opposite side of Mbakwe, being a dynamic playmaker at quarterback. Mbakwe led Clay-Chalkville to a victory over Williams and Saraland in the 2023 Alabama Class 6A State Championship in both of their last high school football games.

“I looked over there and he was pulling,” Williams said. “He hit somebody with a fake pump and took off. He got it in him. I’m just super proud of our guys, everybody understanding that it takes all of us in this season in order for us to do what we want to do.”

Alabama football’s defensive coordinator Kane Wommack has a lot of respect for Castellanos’ ability to be a mobile quarterback.

“He’s hard to get down,” Wommack told reporters on Monday. “He’s a very shifty player. He can run, he’s elusive in the pocket. … We’ll have our work cut out for us. It’ll be as challenging as we’ve had as far as creating negative plays on the quarterback.”

The chest match between Castellanos and the Tide’s defense should be fun to watch on Saturday.