We are a little over a month away from the college football season starting and what better way than to evaluate athletes who are on the rise. This segment will feature Ohio State’s stud safety Caleb Downs.

Downs began his college career at the University of Alabama where he was an absolute menace on defense. Downs finished his first full college season with 107 total tackles, three pass deflections, one forced fumble, and two interceptions. Downs is a safety who is not only extremely smart, but has a knack for finding the football. His brother, Josh, is currently in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts as one of their main wide receivers. Football knowledge and ability runs deep in the Downs family tree and Caleb is no exception.

As Downs enters his first season at Ohio State, expect the defense to instantly get a boost, especially the secondary. Downs will provide the Buckeyes with much needed leadership on the back-end and paired with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and his scheme, it is a perfect match for the 6-foot 205 pound safety.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) mentioned Downs as the top safety in all of college football in their article titled: College Football: Top 10 returning safeties for the 2024 season. Downs was listed at the number one spot.

Author Max Chadwick went into detail as to why Downs made the list as the top safety heading into the season and his explanation explains just how much of a stud he is.

Downs is the first rising sophomore to lead one of PFF’s position rankings since Brock Bowers topped the tight ends list heading into the 2022 season. Unlike Bowers, Downs will try to build off his stellar true freshman campaign at a new school, transferring to Ohio State from Alabama in January.

He entered Tuscaloosa as the highest-rated safety recruit since Derwin James Jr. in 2015 and immediately showed why. The true freshman was named a first-team PFF All-American and was second among Power Five safeties with 16 coverage stops. His 88.9 PFF coverage grade ranked third among that same group.

Downs has no glaring weaknesses in his game, which is pretty ridiculous considering he’s not even a year removed from his senior prom. He’ll surely be joining his older brother, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs, in the NFL in a couple of years. In fact, he’d likely be the first safety off the board next month if he was in this year’s class.

The sophomore safety is only two years removed from being in high school and is on pace to be a weapon on defense.

Downs’ Collegiate Statistics: 

2023: 107 Total Tackles (70 Solo, 37 Assisted), 3 Pass Deflections, 1 Forced Fumble, 2 INTs for 11 Yards

2024: TBD

Downs’ smart football IQ paired with his fearless ability to hit and get after opposing athletes, makes him a future NFL caliber player. For the Ohio State Buckeyes, Downs’ arrival instantly propels the secondary to new heights and will make the team’s overall defense much better than a season ago.

Expect this young star to have a big season in 2024 for the Buckeyes as he is certainly a top college football player to watch.