COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football is putting itself in the best position to flip Caleb Downs from Alabama.
The Buckeyes have continued to plug away at the nation’s No. 11 player and top safety, pushing for a chance to get him back on campus for the first time since his official visit in June. Head coach Ryan Day and safeties coach Perry Eliano went to see the five-star during the off weeks with hopes that he’d eventually come up for a game-day visit. That became a reality when he showed up for The Game against Michigan instead of heading to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama-Auburn game.
OSU has always felt that Downs was a better fit with them culturally, despite being an elite talent living in the heart of SEC country. It just needed the on-field product to go along with it, given that its defense hadn’t been up to par in three of the past four seasons.
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That changed in 2022 as Jim Knowles introduced a safe-driven defense that’s among the nation’s best, led by a group of safeties playing at a high level.
Downs has spent the past year building a strong relationship with Eliano, who never let up, even after a decision was made. On Saturday, he got to see what Ohio State had been promising in action as it took on its rival. It’s done its part in trying to pull off the most impressive recruiting job of the Day era. Now it’ll wait and see if it was all worth it.
Successfully flipping Downs would make him the highest-rated player in OSU’s class as he’d join wide receiver Brandon Inniss as five stars. The class would also jump up from sixth to third in the recruiting rankings while also putting a sizable dent in Alabama’s lead as the top class.
To see Ohio State’s full 2023 recruiting class, click here.
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