Tommy Castellanos gets confronted by Cam Ward in front of Isaiah Horton about 'they don't have Nick Saban to save them' comments

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Clint Lamb | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 8:15 AM ET

Alabama's season opener against Florida State already has some built-in flair to it after recent comments were made by Seminoles quarterback Tommy Castellanos. Last month, the Boston College transfer was speaking with Pete Nakos of On3 when he said the Crimson Tide "don't have Nick Saban to save them" and followed it up with, "I just don't see them stopping me" when the two teams meet on Aug. 30.

Those comments went viral with a couple of current and former Alabama players even chirping back. Then in a recent workout that included both college and NFL players, Castellanos was confronted about the comments by former Miami quarterback and the recent No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, who was teammates with new Crimson Tide receiver Isaiah Horton in 2024.

"He [Horton] said to say that sh-- to his face," Ward can be heard saying to Castellanos in a recorded video on YouTube before the Florida State quarterback responded, "Man listen, y'all boys gonna see."

Horton apparently isn't the type of person to run his mouth, saying it "wasn't his speed" to get into a back-and-forth about the comments. Still, the awkwardness between everyone was noticeable, even to a point where Castellanos felt the need to clarify his comments to Horton.

"You watch any interview, I don't ever talk like that. Them boys coming off of 2-10. I've just got to instill some confidence," he explained to Horton. "That's all I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to get some confidence, I'm trying to get my boys ready to go. I'm trying to make it the biggest game possible."

As far as making it the biggest game possible, mission accomplished.

This matchup was already considered one of the better helmet games in Week 1, but Castellanos has now added more fuel to the fire. Say what you want about the Seminoles signal-caller, but the situation has made this game all the more intriguing. We'll now have to see how Alabama's defense elects to respond come game day.

Alabama is looking to replace three starters from last year's defense in linebacker Jihaad Campbell, safety Malachi Moore and defensive lineman Tim Smith. With that being said, it still returns two off-ball linebackers (Deontae Lawson and Justin Jefferson) and two safeties (Keon Sabb and Bray Hubbard) who played at least 400 snaps and started at least three games in 2024. Plus, James Smith saw more than 300 snaps in a heavy rotational role.

Alabama's defense struggled at times to slow down dual-threat quarterbacks in defensive coordinator Kane Wommack's first season, and Castellanos has run for over 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns in 20 career starts to go with 3,614 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. But with this being Year 2 in the system with a lot of returning talent, the expectation is for this unit to take another step forward.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: