"That gave Kalen DeBoer the ultimate gift": CFB insider predicts Thomas Castellanos' Alabama chirp to backfire during season opener

FSU quarterback Thomas Castellanos has been chirping a lot lately, taking shots at Kalen DeBoer's Alabama for the 2025 season opener. FSU and Alabama will meet each other in Tallahassee, which will mark DeBoer's first road game to kick off the season.

The former Boston College QB, who will now play for Mike Norvell, raised eyebrows last week when he took a direct shot, saying that he is not afraid of Bama, and that Nick Saban was not there to save them.

Pretty much all Tuscaloosa fans have taken it personally, and now it’s time to see how Alabama responds to the trash talk. According to On3 insider J.D. PicKell, Castellanos has gotten himself into a lot of trouble.

He claimed the passer had just given a big gift to DeBoer and his team. He pointed out Bama's losses to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt in the regular season, which he believes were due to a below-par performance. Had they risen to their true potential, Bama could have sealed a playoff ticket.

“I think Thomas Castellanos is a good player, but I think the Alabama side of what he said, in terms of what it could mean, or what it could be for that football team, that's where I think it's really intriguing,” Pickell said on the On3 podcast on Thursday. “I think that (Castellanos) talking his cash around Alabama and that game to start the year ... gave Kalen DeBoer the ultimate gift. Like what Thomas Castellanos gave to Alabama and Kalen DeBoer was guaranteed that there will be zero complacency when that game kicks off. “Because that's kind of what got Alabama last year, wasn't it? I know a lot of it was the changing of the guard from Saban to DeBoer. "You're trying to solidify your way of doing things. You're cool. I get all that. But, like, Alabama didn't lose to Oklahoma because they were more talented, or lost to Diego Pavia because Vandy is more talented. They lost because they were complacent,” Pickell added.

Kalen DeBoer looks for resurrection as Alabama fans refuse to lower expectations

The Bama standards are just unreal. Anything less than 10 wins in the regular season is considered a failure. That's the level of expectations that Nick Saban set during his tenure of 17 years at Tuscaloosa. While speaking to the reporters in the offseason, DeBoer mentioned that his primary aim is to get Bama back on track.

There is no scope for error in 2025, and players understand the seriousness of the records and expectations from fans. Ty Simpson will potentially start for the team and will look to find a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.