Could Ohio State Safety Caleb Downs Get Offensive Snaps? Ryan Day Reveals Plan

Former Alabama and now Ohio State safety Caleb Downs could be getting a look on the offensive side of the ball according to Ryan Day.

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

Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs has already proven himself to be a versatile player.

Prior to his transfer, Downs was a defensive star with the Alabama Crimson Tide thanks to his size, smarts and blistering speed. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day told reporters on Tuesday he had spoken with Downs about playing on offense, primarily at running back.

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 /

"It was part of the recruiting process, possibly doing a little bit of running back as well," Day said. "It's something he wanted to do. We've been having him in some of the meetings and some of the individual drills as a possibility there if needed down the road as we continue to build depth at that position."

Ohio State already has one of the best running back rooms in the country. When a team has stars like TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins leading the way (with plenty of others in reserve), there is no need to transition a member of the defense for help. But can you imagine Chip Kelly's creativity with potentially having Downs in the backfield once in a while?

Day said he is not certain if anything will come of Downs' time with the offense, but there has been no problem with seeing how and where he fits over these past few weeks.

"Caleb enjoys that part of it," Day said. "He did agree that that was something that we were going to look into. Where it goes I don't really know right now, but I know that he has the capability to do it. He has the athleticism to do it and we'll kind of see where it goes."