When Nick Saban walked into a team meeting in January of 2024, and retired as Alabama’s football coach, Caleb Downs was as shocked as anyone. The safety, who had just wrapped up an excellent freshman season and planned on continuing his career with the Crimson Tide,

Ohio State, like Georgia, was very familiar with talented safety Caleb Downs. Both schools were among the finalists to land Downs when he was the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia in the 2023 recruiting cycle.