High Praise For Ohio State Buckeyes' Safety Caleb Downs

Max Chadwick of PFF believes that Caleb Downs could be one of the best ever. The Ohio State safety transferred from Alabama after an impressive freshman campaign.

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

The Ohio State Buckeyes landed several of the most coveted transfers in the portal back at the beginning of 2024. Both running back Quinshon Judkins and safety Caleb Downs are expected to be major assets for the Buckeyes this coming season. Judkins will be eligible for the NFL Draft following this season, but Downs will not be.

Although Downs is atleast two seasons away from being able to enter the NFL Draft, he is already being looked at as a top 2026 prospect due to his impressive natural ability and standout freshman season with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Last season, he won several awards including SEC freshman of the year and Shaun Alexander freshman of the year.

Dec 2, 2023; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Caleb Downs (2) practices before the SEC Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Now with the Buckeyes, Downs has joined an experienced group with a ton of talent. Last season, Ohio State had one of the best defenses in the country statistically and the addition of Downs will only help to potentially elevate the already impressive play.

Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus recently gave Downs some extremely high praise on the PFF College Football Show.

"He is truly, truly special and I think will go down as one of the best safety prospects in the NFL Draft," stated Chadwick.

Caleb Downs could be one of the best EVER‼️ pic.twitter.com/Ea9UCPcmm3

— PFF College (@PFF_College) July 20, 2024

There is still time for Downs to develop further as he is yet to play a game with the Buckeyes. The expectations are still pretty high already.

The safe assumption is that if he can emulate or improve upon what he did last season with Alabama, he will not only be in the first-round conversation for 2026, but perhaps the top 10 conversation as well.

Ohio State will most certainly feel good about the ability of Downs at the very back of the defense the next two seasons.