Nick Saban breaks down the growth and development of Caleb Downs

The emergence of true freshman safety Caleb Downs has served as a bright spot for Alabama‘s defense, as the former five-star prospect is fresh off of a dominant performance in the Crimson Tide’s 40-17 win over Mississippi State.

Downs is just five games into his collegiate career but has already impressed in Tuscaloosa, and in his weekly press conference Monday, head coach Nick Saban spoke about his young emerging star in the secondary and how he’s grown.

“I think Caleb was a really good player right to start with,” Saban said. “I think that one of the things that freshmen especially they kind of get the defense, they kind of learn what they’re supposed to do and then you start getting into game plans where you’ve got to tweak those things a little bit.”

Downs wasn’t just a five-star recruit, but the No. 1 ranked safety in the country, the No. 1 overall player in the state of Georgia, and the No. 5 overall prospect for the 2023 recruiting class according to On3’s Industry Ranking. He turned heads early when he arrived on campus in January, and has continued to live up to they hype the more he plays in Alabama’s defense this season.

“That’s where the experience really comes into play. Then you can put yourself in the right position more often. But he’s played really really well for us,” Saban said.

Downs currently leads the Crimson Tide in tackles with 40 so far this season, notching double-digit tackles in two of their five games this season. One of those games was this weekend, where he recorded a career-high 13 tackles and recorded his first career interception versus the Bulldogs to earn SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors.

“He’s bright, smart, very instinctive as a football player, really works hard to prepare, very conscientious in terms of making sure that he knows exactly what he’s supposed to do, where he’s supposed to be and how he fits on the plays,” Saban said. “And I think being a good player and being a very conscientious person, the combination of those two, has really enhanced his development and improvement.”

Downs has also forced and recovered a fumble this season, showing a knack for being around the football early in his career. And given his hot start and room to grow given his age along with the Crimson Tide’s track record of producing talent in the secondary, there’s no question that his future could be even brighter than his present is at the moment.