Ohio State Buckeyes' Safety Caleb Downs Ranks No. 1 In PFF List

PFF posted their Top 10 safeties in college football headed into this coming season and newly-acquired Buckeye Caleb Downs sits atop the list.

April 13, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Quinshon Judkins (1) of the scarlet team is tagged by Caleb Downs (2) of the grey team during the first half of the LifeSports spring football game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. / Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch /

Caleb Downs was one of the most highly-coveted transfers in the portal after announcing his decision to leave Alabama in January. In his freshman season with the Crimson Tide, Downs was named a second-team All-American.

The Georgia Bulldogs appeared to be the favorite to land Downs and manage to keep him in the SEC. However, Downs chose Ohio State and the Buckeyes now have one of the best young safeties in all of college football.

Pro Football Focus recently posted a link on X with their Top 10 safety rankings headed into the 2024-25 season. At the very top of that list is Caleb Downs.

1. Caleb Downs, Ohio State
10. Aubrey Burks, West Virginia

PFF’s Top 10 Safeties in College Football⬇️https://t.co/3UDHmKsetV

— PFF College (@PFF_College) July 7, 2024

Back in 2022, Brock Bowers was a rising sophomore and led PFF's tight end position rankings headed into that season. Bowers was the last player to do that prior to Downs leading the safety list this year.

In addition to Downs, an astonishing five other Big Ten safeties made PFF's Top 10. At No. 3 is Purdue's Dillon Thieneman, No. 5 is Penn State's Kevin Winston Jr., No. 6 is Iowa's Xavier Nwankpa, No. 7 is Michigan's Rod Moore and No. 8 is Wisconsin's Hunter Wohler.

The lone honorable mention was also a Big Ten player in Iowa's Quinn Schulte.

Surprisingly, Lathan Ransom was not on the list, despite being an exceptional veteran safety.

As for Downs, he leads a strong list and will look to improve upon his impressive stats from his freshman year in college. With the Crimson Tide he tallied 107 total tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two interceptions. He also returned four punts for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Mar 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs (2) stretches with wide receiver Kojo Antwi (14) during the first spring practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

With a good group of returning cornerbacks, the back end of Ohio State's defense is in great hands with Downs being part of the group.