Caleb Downs is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

. He previously played for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

Early life and high school

Downs attended Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Georgia. Downs was the named the All-American Bowl Player of the Year as a senior. He was ranked as one of the top players in the

2023 college football recruiting class The college football recruiting class of 2023 refers to the recruiting of high school athletes to play college football starting in the fall of 2023. The scope of this article covers: (a) the colleges and universities with recruiting classes ran ...

and considered the nation's No. 1 safety prospect. He was ranked No. 9 nationally by Rivals.com, No. 11 by ESPN and No. 8 by 247Sports. In July 2023, he was named Defensive Football Player of the Year by ''USA Today''.

College career

Downs committed to Alabama on July 27, 2022. He chose Alabama over Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame and Ohio State. In his debut, he led the team in tackles with eight. At the conclusion of his freshman season Downs was named the SEC Freshman of the Year.

Personal life

Downs' father,

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

, played college football for NC State and is now an assistant coach. His uncle,

Dré Bly Donald André Bly (born May 22, 1977) is a former American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of North Carolina (UNC), and earned All-American ...

, played for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

and 11 years in the NFL. His brother

Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...

also played with the Tar Heels, and is now with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

of the NFL.

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Jackson County, Georgia American football defensive backs American football safeties Alabama Crimson Tide football players {{defensiveback-stub