Clemson football has had no shortage of bulletin board material gifted to it over the years and it's been especially prevalent during the recent national title drought, but heading into the 2025 season, everyone has been singing the Tigers' praises.
There hasn't been much in the way of bulletin board material for Dabo Swinney and the Tigers to feed off of. Heck, even Paul Finebaum has called the Tigers legit national title threats.
You know the headlines are almost all positive when Finebaum is hyping you up.
However, one ACC foe has given Clemson all the ammo it needs in terms of motivation. New Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos, a transfer from Boston College, has been talking a massive game this offseason so far, saying he wants to play Alabama because they can't stop him post-Nick Saban and then he took a shot at the ACC on Tuesday.
According to a report, Castellanos said that he "tore up the ACC" by himself last year and that people don't realize Florida State is going to be much better because people can't just sit back in a zone and watch him in the pocket.
FSU QB Thomas Castellanos had more to say about the upcoming season 👀
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) June 24, 2025
“I feel like I tore the ACC up by my damn self for the last two years, and now I’m with a squad.
I hope people don’t think that Florida State is going to be the same team it was last year because we have… pic.twitter.com/DTsqcnBr9X
While this isn't a direct shot at Clemson, it is insinuated that Castellanos believes that he's going to continue to "tear up the ACC" because he's on a better team and he's a better quarterback than former Tiger DJ Uiagalelei.
This is big talk for a guy who went 5-8 against ACC teams as a starter over the past two years before leaving Boston College mid-season in 2024.
We will see just how much he's going to tear things up on Nov. 8 in Death Valley.
Clemson will be more than ready -- assuming Castellanos is still the starter then.