'We'll Have Our Work Cut Out For Us': Kane Wommack Speaks on Thomas Castellanos

The Alabama defensive coordinator shares his thoughts on the difficulty of stopping a dual-threat like the Florida State quarterback.

Oct 25, 2024; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles quarterback Thomas Castellanos (1) runs the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the first half at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football is just five days away from the season opener at Florida State, but perhaps the Seminoles' most important player presents a skill the Crimson Tide defense struggled against last season.

Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos was limited as a rusher last season due to injury, but he ran for over 1,000 yards in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, Alabama struggled to stop the quarterback run against then-Oklahoma quarterback Jackon Arnold, who rushed for 131 yards, South Florida's Byrum Brown (108 yards), Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia (56) and then-Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava (44).

Three of those four examples resulted in losses for Alabama and it'll first be put to the test against Castellanos. So, what does Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack see in the Florida State quarterback?

"When you look at their quarterback and his body of work over the years, he's hard to get down," Wommack said during Monday's press conference. "He's a very shifty player, he can run, he's elusive in the pocket. He's got really good pocket awareness and his escapability is all over the place. So, kind of hard to pin down in that regard.

"We'll have our work cut out for us. It'll be as challenging probably as we've had from a standpoint of creating negative plays on the quarterback in the backfield."

Wommack proceeded to share his evaluation of how his defense has worked on stopping the quarterback run throughout the offseason.

"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."

Alabama finished 13th in the SEC in sacks last season with 25. For reference, first-place Ole Miss logged 52. It's clear that Alabama struggled in this stat category last year, and it's even tougher to perform against a scrambling quarterback.

That said, 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." A combination of the offseason improvements during practice plus Castellanos' contribution to the bulletin board can provide an extra jolt of energy to the Crimson Tide's pass-rush.

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."

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.