Is Alabama Using Thomas Castellanos' Comments as Motivation?

Alabama football is now just four days away from its season opener on the road against Florida State. But the hype surrounding this matchup started a couple of months ago.

Seminoles quarterback Thomas Castellanos went viral on June 23, as he said that the Crimson Tide doesn't "have Nick Saban to save them" and "I just don’t see them stopping me."

Alabama captains Deontae Lawson and Tim Keenan III both said on July 6 during SEC Media Days that they "won't forget what he said" and that "all disrespect will be addressed accordingly." Nevertheless, Castellanos reaffirmed his viral take on July 23, stating, "We stand on what I said."

Fast forward to Tuesday, Lawson opened up about Castellanos' comments once again, explaining the impact of an opposing quarterback putting messages out there.

"It's always good," Lawson said. "You know you're dealing with a confident quarterback that has confidence in his team. But it's something that's in the back of our minds. Motivation has got to be internal, so it's got to be in you. All we can do is prepare throughout the week the right way and handle it on Saturday."

So, how do Castellanos' comments factor into motivating Alabama's defense?

"It's disrespectful to us as a defense," Lawson said. "But like I said, it's just something that sits in the back of the mind. If you're not doing the right things throughout the week, then all the trash talk he says—if you're going to try to use that as motivation and you're not it doing throughout the week, then it's not going to work.

"We've got to make sure we prepare the right way, starting today, so we're all on the same page. So when we're ready, we'll be ready for him."

Part of Castellanos' confidence likely stems from his ability to run the ball as a quarterback — something Alabama struggled against last season. Some examples (three of which resulted in losses for the Tide): Former Oklahoma quarterback Jackon Arnold rushed for 131 yards, South Florida's Byrum Brown (108 yards), Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia (56) and then-Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava (44).

That said, Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said on Monday that stopping the quarterback has been emphasized in practice for a while.

"It's something that we're challenging our players, we're tackling year-round," Wommack said. "We're in a good position right now tackling as a defense, but until you put the ball down against another opponent, you don't know for sure."

All of the offseason tension between Alabama and Florida State will be taken out on the field of Doak Campbell Stadium on Aug. 30 in Tallahassee. The trip to FSU marks the first time Alabama will begin a season on the road since 2020 and the first non-conference road pairing to begin a year since 2000 at UCLA.