2023 LSU Recruit Caleb Downs’ Family Football Background Has Helped in Early Recruitment Process
Caleb Downs comes from a prideful football family, starting with his father Gary, and extending to him and his brother Josh. Caleb has asserted himself as a 2023 prospect to watch after a successful freshman season at Mill Creek High School in Georgia and is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother.
Gary was a running back for NC State in the early 1990's and would later be a third round draft choice of the New York Giants. He'd spend the next six years in the NFL, his longest stint being with the Atlanta Falcons from 1997-00.
The longtime NFL running back passed his love of football onto his sons and both have become premier players in their respective classes. Josh, a receiver in the 2020 class, became a highly recruited four-star prospect and ultimately decided to stay close to home and sign with North Carolina.
Both have been great for Caleb in terms of advice on how to handle his recruitment process, which has blown up in recent weeks and months.
"They've guided me through everything," Caleb said. "Josh's big recruitment has given me a little light in how to choose schools. Then my dad, he's been such a vital decision maker for me. I bounce everything off of him."
Caleb has not only picked up an offer from LSU but Georgia, Tennessee, Nebraska, Louisville and Michigan State have all offered since the beginning of May. Downs was offered by the Tigers back on May 13 so the rising the sophomore was pretty pumped when he heard cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond on the other line.
"It was a great experience, it's been one of my dream schools since I was a little kid," Downs said. "When I got on the phone with coach Raymond, it was unreal. He said he liked my technique and my instincts and being able to play the ball when it's in the air."
One of the topics of conversation that came up when speaking with Raymond is the potential of getting Downs to Baton Rouge for a visit sometime in the fall to check out the campus for the first time.
The instincts have always been a key component of Downs' game. Standing at 6-foot-0, 180 pounds, the young safety has spent time since his freshman season ended working on his tackling.
"I know that my cover skills have already improved a ton from last year and they were already pretty good last year," Downs said. "I had five picks last year but I hope to continue to improve on that. Tackling was just a little inconsistent for me when I watched my tape from last year so cleaning up that has been a focus as well.”
Downs will train at his school from 2-3:30 in the afternoon and then hop in a car and make the 40 minute drive to Atlanta, where he works on his technique and overall defensive back skills with a personal trainer.
"They'll work with me on my press coverage, making sure I'm not getting beat off the line," Downs said. "They'll critique my breaks to help me get a play on the ball. You have to have great footwork to be a good defensive back so they'll incorporate their own drills to help me in that aspect as well."
The goal Downs has with his trainers is trying to show a marked improvement on his tackling technique in his sophomore tape, something that was a little inconsistent for him as a freshman.
"Last year I struggled with that a little bit but this year, with the amount of work I'm putting in, I expect to be a lot more consistent and make it a bigger part of my game," Downs said. "Tackling in open space has been a big part of my training this offseason and also just coverage in general."
Despite his father playing for the rival Falcons, Caleb and Josh always grew up rooting for the New Orleans Saints and LSU. Both were able to follow along as the Tigers rode that historic offense to a national championship.
Because Caleb is a safety, he would focus mainly on the LSU secondary, particularly Grant Delpit and Derek Stingley Jr., when watching the Tigers in 2019.
"I liked how Delpit was always hyped and vocal to his players and that's a big thing to be able to do as a safety, communicate with your guys," Downs said. "That's something I'm finding myself doing this year because I played well last year. I'm still only a sophomore but everybody knows that I proved myself and I hope to be a big leader on the team moving forward."
"They were always one of the top schools and I've always loved everything Louisiana," Downs said. "Me and my brother always just gravitated towards LSU and the Saints. Having that shared fandom was our way to connect. To go there would be a dream come true."
