What Florida State’s Gus Malzahn said about Alabama football, Thomas Castellanos

When Alabama football travels to Florida State on Aug. 30, it will be to face a once-familiar foe. Former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is the Seminoles’ new offensive coordinator, and his first game in the role will be the season-opener against the Crimson Tide.

Speaking to reporters in Tallahassee on Tuesday, Malzahn spoke of how Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama will challenge FSU. The longtime AU head coach said he’d expect his current squad to take the game seriously.

“There’s no doubt, the urgency,” Malzahn said. “We’re gonna play one of the top defenses, probably in college football, when you look at who they’ve got coming back, their skillset and all that. So the urgency, not just for the players but the coaches, we understand. And you’ve got to be strategic. We’ve got to be strategic in fall camp.”

Malzahn was fired from Auburn during the 2020 season. The Tigers have never reached the level he took them to during his tenure, and Malzahn has stayed in the game, leaving a head coach job at Central Florida for the OC gig at Florida State.

Seminole head coach Mike Norvell praised Malzahn’s prowess at ACC media days earlier in July.

“He’s been a very successful head football coach,” Norvell said. “The last time he was an offensive coordinator he did win a national championship (with Auburn in 2010). To make the choice and decision he made to come to Florida State, I mean, that is the purpose. That is the reason.

“We have an opportunity here to really do something special, and I think that his focus is there on the offensive side of the ball, and he’s one of the best that have ever done it.”

Malzahn might not have trash talked his upcoming opponent on Tuesday, but his quarterback did plenty of that earlier this offseason. Thomas Castellanos, who transferred to FSU from Boston College for the 2025 season, made headlines, saying he didn’t think the Crimson Tide can stop him, especially without Nick Saban around.

Alabama players at SEC media days earlier in July said Castellanos’ “disrespect will be addressed.” The quarterback’s coordinator praised his fit with the Florida State offense on Tuesday.

“The great thing is that he does have experience,” Malzahn said. “He was with me at UCF. He had two different offensive coordinators at Boston College, and now we’re getting back to running pretty much what we did when he was at UCF. We’re going to play to his strengths. He’s got a lot of them. Gonna let him play.”

Alabama and Florida State are scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT Aug. 30 in Tallahassee. The game will be aired on ABC.