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Alabama Five-Star Plus+ S signee Caleb Downs named MaxPreps National High School Football Player of the Year

On3 imageby:Joe Spears01/10/23

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Chad Simmons/On3

Several of the top recruits in the country were recognized on Tuesday by MaxPreps.com, which covers high school sports across the country.

Alabama Five-Star Plus+ safety signee Caleb Downs beat out a loaded group as he was named the 2022 MaxPreps National High School Football Player of the Year.

Other players nominated for the award were Oklahoma Five-Star Plus+ quarterback signee Jackson Arnold, Georgia four-star running back signee Roderick Robinson, 2024 four-star defensive lineman Rueben Bain and 2024 Bishop Gorman quarterback Micah Alejado.

Downs was a long-time commitment to the Crimson Tide announcing his commitment on July 27 before signing on the first day of the Early Signing Period.

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He closed out his senior season with 83 tackles, 10 defended passes, five interceptions with two returned for touchdowns and a fumble recovery. He also had 811 total yards of offense and 23 offensive touchdowns.

Downs is the No. 6 overall prospect and No. 1 safety in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 1 player in Georgia.

Downs currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $408K. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.