Alabama Set to Face Familiar Name in 'Physically Strong' Florida State Quarterback

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama's matchup against Florida State is a bit different from last year.

The Crimson Tide fell to the Seminoles in Tallahassee during the 2025 season opener — UA's first Week 1 loss since 2001. FSU quarterback Thomas Castellanos made a ton of noise, referenced Nick Saban and added bulletin board material for Alabama in the months and weeks leading up to the game, but he backed it up.

Kalen DeBoer and company will host Florida State on Saturday for its Week 3 matchup. Thomas Castellanos is no longer a Seminole and Ashton Daniels was named the next starting quarterback in April.

Daniels is a familiar name to Alabama, as he threw for 259 yards, a touchdown and an interception, plus he logged 108 rushing yards on 23 carries in last year's Iron Bowl for Auburn.

“Certainly you have an understanding of, OK, this is what this quarterback’s skill set is," Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said on Monday. "Here are the things that we saw live that he did against us.

"And obviously, in the Iron Bowl I thought he did a really nice job of utilizing his feet, scrambling, extending plays and hit us on a couple there in the second half by extending some of those plays and keeping the game in a tighter position than we would have wanted it to be.

"And so, I think when you watch him, he is a big, strong, physical runner. He is just a physically strong guy, difficult to bring down, and he’s played a lot of football."

Daniels played in four games for Auburn in 2025, logging 797 passing yards and 280 rushing yards, after spending the previous three seasons at Stanford, the latter two as a starter.

"And experience is finite, and that’s something that you look at," Wommack said. "He’s been in different systems but ultimately just feeling comfortable playing in big environments, that’s something that he has obviously proven that he can do and has done it in multiple places. I think there is still, from a schematic standpoint, he’s learning their offense and has done a nice job.

"I thought there were some improvements that I even saw from Game 1 to Game 2 that he’s making. And then, when you have a bye week, to get ready and prepared, I would imagine we’re going to see new wrinkles. There’s going to be things that they’re going to be stressing and working on, and so we will get their absolute best on Saturday.”

Through two games (win over New Mexico State, loss to SMU), Daniels has completed 29 of 50 (58 percent) pass attempts for 327 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The dual threat has run for 71 yards and a score on 16 carries (4.4 yards per rush).

So, how does Alabama's familiarity with Daniels carry over into Saturday's showdown at 2:30 p.m. CT?

"Different offense, same quarterback, same tendencies," Crimson Tide cornerback Zabien Brown said. "He plays to his style and we'll be ready for it."

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