Alabama Legend Shares Unfiltered Opinion on Thomas Castellanos’ Blunt Nick Saban Comment originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Alabama Crimson Tide enters the 2025 season with the hopes of competing for a national championship after going 9-4 last season and losing to the Michigan Wolverines in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Of course, they open up their season against Florida State on Aug. 30 and there’s already been some trash talk thrown around as the Seminoles’ quarterback Thomas Castellanos stated that Alabama no longer has “Nick Saban to save them.”
That’s certainly a bold statement, which even caught the attention of former Crimson Tide running back and 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, who revealed his thoughts on the situation in a video posted to “The Triple Option” YouTube channel.
“Good for him, let him run his mouth, let him talk,” Ingram said.
“You’re supposed to be confident as an athlete, as a dog he’s supposed to be confident, so let him run his mouth and give them dogs at Alabama a reason to go in, make him regret what he said…I know they going to use what this man saying, coming from Boston College at Florida State, who just had probably one of the worst seasons ever, so yeah, good for him, man. I’m glad he’s confident.”
Of course, Ingram isn’t wrong that Florida State is coming off a horrible season, because led by head coach Mike Norvell, the team went just 2-10, which gave them their worst winning percentage (.167) since going 1-10 in 1974 (.091).
Landing Castellanos through the transfer portal could be a big boost, though, because last season for Boston College, he put up solid numbers, completing 99-of-161 passes for 1,366 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games.
However, even with the addition of Castellanos and 22 other players through the transfer portal, this matchup is still an uphill battle for the Seminoles, with ESPN BET currently placing Alabama as 13-point favorites.
If Florida State can pull off the win, though, they could find themselves in very early conversations to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, which would be a complete turnaround for the program.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
