Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos became an instant star after guiding his program to a 31-17 win over No. 8 Alabama on Saturday.In June, Castellanos boldly claimed that Alabama wouldn’t be able to stop him, pointing out that Nick Saban was no longer coaching the Crimson Tide.On Saturday, he left Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama defense struggling to contain him, completing 9 of 14 passes (64.3%) for 152 yards while adding 78 rushing yards and a touchdown.“There’s a reason why I came here," Castellanos said (via On3). "That’s one of the reasons why I came here, for moments like these and days like these. We got a long season ahead — just take it one week at a time and just keep climbing.”“We heard everything everybody said, we’d seen everything everybody said and we just added that fuel to the fire and we went out there and just played ball together. We went out there together and we executed. That’s it.”FSU opened the 2024 season with a 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech on Aug. 24 and went 0-3 before finishing 2-10. That disappointing season also impacted recruiting, with several players decommitting or flipping.However, Saturday's season-opening win has given Mike Norvell’s program a major boost. ESPN analyst Booger McFarland has even proclaimed that Florida State’s swagger is back due to Castellanos.Mike Norvell praises Thomas Castellanos' fearless leadership Thomas Castellanos expressed his hope that fans don’t expect Florida State to be the same program as last year, as the 2025 squad is loaded with talent.Castellanos isn’t all talk, as he backed up his confidence with a strong performance in the season opener. Mike Norvell praised his quarterback’s fearless attitude following the game.“He’s got great energy," Norvell said. (Via On3)." But it’s not just what he says. That’s where people can get caught up because he’s somebody who’s not afraid to talk and put thoughts out there. He does it with his actions. If Tommy doesn’t say a word, you would still feel the way he plays.""We’ve got a lot of guys that have shown up on this team that even in the course of sometimes making a misstep or a mistake or getting beat on a play, they’re not pulling back, they’re pushing forward. I think Tommy is a remarkable competitor. I’m just proud of what he’s done up to this point.”Following FSU’s 31-17 win over Alabama, Castellanos has even started selling t-shirts reading “Nick can’t save them,” priced at $31.17 each.