It's safe to say Caleb Downs caught the attention of the college football world when he decided to leave Alabama and enter the transfer portal before ultimately landing at Ohio State.
The safety spoke to reporters for the first time since choosing the Buckeyes over Georgia and others, and he revealed he received 102 calls within the first seven or eight hours after entering the portal.
While he answered approximately 80 of them, his decision largely came down to the Buckeyes and Bulldogs, and Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and secondary coach Tim Walton seemed to make the difference.
"I just love the program here," Downs said. "I love Coach Walton and love what the people had to say around here. I believe in Coach Day, and I believe in this team."
He also said name, image and likeness opportunities were not the driving force in his decision.
"At the end of the day, I love playing football," Downs said. "And that's what I'm here to do. I'm not here to make money or do anything like that. I know there's a lot of opportunities here in terms of the city of Columbus, but at the end of the day, I'm here to help this team win football games and I'm here to do my best to try to develop."
While Day, Walton, safeties coach Matt Guerrieri and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles all made an in-home visit with Downs after he entered the portal, he likely wouldn't be at Ohio State if legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban didn't retire. After all, he chose the Crimson Tide over the Buckeyes as a high school prospect and clearly still appreciates Saban.
"It was a huge surprise walking into that meeting and him saying that," Downs said of the retirement. "My heart dropped, for sure. But at the end of the day, if that's what he felt was best for him, I love him for it and that's what he needed to do."
Alabama's loss is Ohio State's gain, and the Downs commitment was one of the highlights in what has turned into an excellent offseason for the Scarlet and Gray.
They also added Crimson Tide quarterback Julian Sayin and offensive lineman Seth McLaughlin in the portal. Throw in former Ole Miss star running back Quinshon Judkins and former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, and the Buckeyes made some critical transfer additions.
They also maintained a number of key members from last year's team, including running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, cornerback Denzel Burke, and safety Lathan Ransom.
The Downs and Ransom pairing at safety could be the best in the nation considering Pro Football Focus noted the latter allowed the lowest passer rating in coverage last season at 19.8 while the former was the SEC Freshman of the Year with 107 tackles, four passes defended, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
It is championship-or-bust for Ohio State entering the 2024 campaign, and the addition of Downs is a major reason for optimism among Buckeyes fans.
