Alabama signee Caleb Downs ready to play for the GOAT

Caleb Downs, five-star plus+ safety from Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Georgia, will begin his career as a student-athlete at the University of Alabama next week. Downs, who joined the Crimson Tide for its Sugar Bowl practices, arrived in San Antonio this week to compete in the All-American Bowl.

Downs is the highest ranked player in Alabama’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class according to the On3 Sports Consensus Rankings. He checks-in as the No. 6 overall player in the country. He has been compared to former Tide star Minkah Fitzpatrick and has also been compared to Eric Berry, who was also the No. 1 player in the Peach State (2007).

“Alabama is getting something special,” Downs said on Thursday. “They are getting something special in every aspect of it.”

The top rated safety in the 2023 class was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Georgia on Friday. He is a finalist for the Al-American Bowl National Player of the Year. He also recently named Mr. Football in Georgia by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta, the AJC Player of the Year and the Gwinnett County Player of the Year.

Downs completed his high school career with a state championship in a 70-35 win against Carrollton. He scored three rushing touchdowns on offense and six tackles on defense in the title game. His final stats during his senior season included 83 tackles, five interceptions (two returned for touchdowns). He also had 1,064 all-purpose yards and 23 touchdowns.

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Caleb Downs has a bright future ahead

Downs will shift to only playing on the defensive side of the ball for the Crimson Tide. He will arrive with a lot of hype and high expectations. Many believe he has a great chance to contribute as a true freshman, possibly earning a starting role early in the season.

The five-star is eager to learn from Alabama head coach Nick Saban. The standard in Tuscaloosa is very high especially in the defensive backfield. The Tide recently saw four of its former DBs selected to the 2022 Pro Bowl (Minkah Fitzpatrick, Marlon Humphrey, Pat Surtain II and Trevon Diggs).

“I am gonna be coached by the Goat (Nick Saban),” he said. “It’s very exciting. He’s been doing it a long time. He has a lot of experience. There is a lot of stuff I can learn from him.

“They just had three DBs announce they are going to the league. I think that speaks for itself. Two of those players are safeties in Brian Branch and Jordan Battle. I think they’ll both be high draft picks.”

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Sticking with the Tide

There was plenty of speculation throughout the final few months of his recruitment of Downs on the fence regarding his commitment. He attended two Georgia games during the fall. He also attended the Ohio State/Michigan game instead of the Iron Bowl.

The visit to Columbus created the most buzz with many on the Buckeyes’ side exciting thinking of an imminent flip. Downs, however, had always indicated plans to attend a game at Ohio State in the fall and had discussed those plans with Alabama prior to the visit.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge of what their standard is,” Downs told On3 Sports regarding his commitment to Alabama. “I’m going to go in there and try to play at that high level and challenge myself to get in there and learn the defense and to challenge myself to earn a spot. That’s a big thing for me.”

Alabama Signing Day Capsule: Five-star Plus+ Safety Caleb Downs

Ohio State, Georgia did its best to try and flip Downs

A false narrative spread earlier in the season of Alabama preventing its commitments from taking visits after he opted not to visit the Buckeyes. Five seconds of research would have shown Downs and Haynes had attended the Georgia/Oregon game on September 3, Richard Young attended a few games at Florida and Tony Mitchell spent time in Auburn and College Station.

BamaInsider spoke with Verron Haynes (father of Justice Haynes) in October about the rumor, how Alabama does not prevent commitments from taking visits and thoughts on certain programs enforcing those rules on its commitments.

“That’s the level of their excellence,” Verron Haynes said regarding Alabama. “If you have a good product it’s gonna speak for itself. Alabama doesn’t have to prevent kids from taking other visits to keep them. They know they have a great product and people see it.

“It really behooves me when I see other teams try to prevent recruits from taking visits elsewhere. Do you believe in yourself and the product that you have? Then why worry about a recruit taking a visit?  It continues to verify our feelings about Alabama. They don’t have to sell their program or prevent anyone from visiting elsewhere. They know they have the best product.”

NIL is a major topic of conversations nowadays when recruits are making their decisions. Downs shared his take after the All-American Bowl practice on Thursday regarding the NIL influences in college decisions.

“I think NIL gets misconstrued a little bit,” Downs said. “People are just saying schools are paying for players. I don’t think a lot of schools are doing that. I think a few, maybe, but I also think some are picking the schools they want to play for at the end of the day.”

Must-READ: Why Alabama’s secondary can withstand the loss of Eli Ricks, others

Downs shining in San Antonio

The Alabama signee will play in one final game before re-joining his future teammates in Tuscaloosa. The All-American Bowl will kickoff at noon (CST) on Saturday with coverage on NBC. Downs has received a heavy amount of praise throughout the week of practice.

5-star Alabama signee Caleb Downs in coverage @AABonNBC @AndrewJBone https://t.co/BeLdmmPKSg pic.twitter.com/OACmM1XqNt

— Sam Spiegelman (@samspiegs) January 4, 2023

“It doesn’t take long to tell Caleb Downs is the most college-ready defensive back prospect for team East from a physical standpoint. But Downs more than passes the eye test. While we didn’t see Downs tested often during the first two days of practice, that ended Thursday. Downs had multiple pass breakups during the 7-on-7 period of the East’s practice. He also had excellent display of run fits and closing to the ball. On one play, Downs nearly beat running back and fellow Alabama signee Justice Haynes to the ball on a screen pass during the team period. Downs ranks as the No. 11 overall prospect and No. 1 safety in the On300. – Cody Bellaire said after day 3

We didn’t see Caleb Downs tested a ton over the day, but he still held up very well in coverage on the reps we caught. The Alabama signee looks like one of the better cover men on hand in San Antonio – Charles Power said after day 2.

Caleb Downs entered the week with the reputation as one of the best high school football players in America. The five-star Alabama signee unsurprisingly looked the part on Tuesday. Though he plays safety, Downs may be one of the best pure cover men in the cycle. He won a rep against Ohio State wide receiver signee Brandon Inniss in 1-on-1’s during the morning session and followed that up with a pick against Inniss during 7-on-7 in the afternoon. Downs ranks as the No. 11 overall prospect and No. 1 safety in the On300. – Charles Power said after day 1.

Also from the All-American Bowl: Keon Keeley opens up about why he signed with Alabama

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