![“That was probably one of the most difficult pieces in my life, just try[ing] to make that decision and knowing that the high school decision I made, I wasn’t going to be able to stick to,” Downs said Saturday, adding that the process was far from immediate. “I didn’t….](https://extrasoccernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-71.jpeg)
“That was probably one of the most difficult pieces in my life, just try[ing] to make that decision and knowing that the high school decision I made, I wasn’t going to be able to stick to,” Downs said Saturday, adding that the process was far from immediate. “I didn’t know right away that I was going to hit the portal.
Caleb Downs, a native of Georgia and a former standout safety for Alabama, is looking forward to Monday night’s national championship game in Atlanta. However, he briefly discussed leaving the Crimson Tide following Nick Saban’s retirement, just days before facing Notre Dame to end his first season as an Ohio State Buckeye.
When Saban announced his resignation as coach on January 10, 2024, just over a year ago, Downs’ response was universal in college football: “a great shock,” he said. Considering that the prior head coach had been a major factor in Downs’ decision to attend Alabama, he talked about realizing whether it had actually occurred. After what he estimated to be five or six days, the safety who had recorded 107 tackles as a true freshman and won the SEC Freshman of the Year title logged onto the transfer site.
He has recorded 76 tackles and two interceptions while playing for Ohio State. If he and his teammates defeat the Fighting Irish on Monday night, he will have the chance to call himself a national champion after making an impression as one of the nation’s top defensive backs during his freshman season and making an appearance in the College Football Playoff.
