“On a scale from one to 10, how competitive are you? “Ten.” He answered. No flicker. No hesitation, brimming with self-confidence. That’s Ohio State Buckeyes’ safety Caleb Downs for you. And why not? That guy has been racking up accolades one after another since his college debut. He got the SEC Freshman of the Year, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and All-American Honors in his back pocket, among other achievements. And honestly, his competitive spirit does make sense. He comes from an athletic family, where his dad, Gary Downs, played in the NFL, and his brother, Josh, is a wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts.
Caleb began his collegiate career at Tuscaloosa. But on the heels of Nick Saban’s departure, 26 players left Tuscaloosa, including Downs. Obviously, he was a hit at Alabama, and true to that, his entry to the transfer portal made major headlines. He received 102 calls in a single day, an event he described as “recruiting on steroids.” Eventually, he hit the gavel at Columbus, Ohio.
Now, having played at two major powerhouses in what appears to be the most competitive conferences, the fandom has been itching to know what it’s like. Alabama, which boasts double-digit national championships in its arsenal, and the Buckeyes, who are fresh off a natty win, it is obvious that the fans are eager to know about his experience; About the Saban vs. Day playbook, and more. In a candid conversation with CBS Sports, he opens up about it.
“Alabama, great culture, great university football program. Compare and contrast that with Ohio State,” the host asked. And Buckeyes star safety shot his answer. “I feel like the biggest difference is just how the head coaches want to run the program. Coach Day and Coach Saban are great coaches. It’s just the difference in…Coach Day is a little bit more personable to his players, and Coach Saban is very personable to a lot of players, but he also wants that commanding force. So he has that….”
Just like us, the host himself appears confused and mulls over Caleb’s answer. “I’m confused now. Is he personable or is he not?” he pondered. “Now you said Coach Day is personable.” To which Downs further elaborates. “… personable, but he’s in a different way. It’s in a different way. He has a commanding force with him that is kind of a fear factor that he kind of was.”
There it is. Laid out simply in an honest conversation. Honestly, there’s a reason why Saban is called a legend. He rebuilt LSU, earned them their first national title since 1958 (in 2003). And Alabama? He built it from scratch, got them six national championships, and made them a powerhouse. There was a method to his madness, or a better wording would be, a method to his ‘Process.’
As a high school recruit, earning the No. 1 safety spot in the Class of 2023, Caleb Downs had a meteoric start at Alabama under Nick Saban. He tallied 107 tackles for the Crimson Tide. All had been merry, but suddenly Nick Saban’s retirement news shook Tuscaloosa. His “heart dropped” when Downs heard the news. “He was the most consistent person that I’ve ever met,” as he described the legend.
The host further continues with, “Were you scared of the coach?” Downs replies promptly, “I wasn’t scared of coach, but there was a lot of players there that was a little scared of, but he liked it that way because he was in control of everything.” Yeah, Saban was big on that discipline. “And coach Day is a little bit more low-key with his?” prompted the host. “No, he’s in control for sure,” replied Caleb Downs.
Ryan Day has been making his mark in college football, creating his legacy. The most recent? 2024 natty win. “He just likes our feedback on everything as well. So he wants to ask the players what do you guys think? How do you guys want to do it? And he wants to do it together,” Caleb Downs added. But that’s not the only difference the Ohio State safety felt in his collegiate career between these two powerhouses. There’s more to the scoop.
Caleb Downs spills more on Saban vs. Day playbook
Caleb Down gave some more insights in another podcast segment with RG.org. Aside from the feedback loop and the ‘fear factor,’ he zoomed in on the personal side of the coaches, the beautiful yet different relationships that have got the players loyal to their coaches. And it’s nothing short of wonderful.
“He was the same person every day, and that’s something that I acknowledged, and I learned from him,” Caleb Downs said of Nick Saban. “Just watching how he operated is a key piece to success. Just making sure every day, you put your best foot forward, and you go in with the intention to be the best, and with the mindset, “I’m going to do everything the right was, so I can be in the best position.”
So, after Saban’s retirement, what got Caleb Downs to jump on the Buckeyes’ bandwagon? Yes, it was his relationship with Buckeyes’ cornerback coach Tim Walton. But Day’s relationship with his players also won him over. “Just caring about your players and knowing them intimately, caring about them off the field is something that I’ve learned from him,” says Downs. “I feel like that’s a special thing as a coach, not always being like, ‘I have to be the one that does everything.’ To be able to say, ‘Hey, my players may have some input, and I’m going to take the input and see what we can do it.”
And Day has been consistently delivering results at Columbus, finishing within the top 10 every single season. Although a wrinkle here or there, a defeat here or there made its appearance, especially to Michigan in the last several editions of the Game.
But there’s another interesting element to note. What if you come to know that Ryan Day himself turned a page from Nick Saban’s playbook? And it’s for long-term gains. Saban is so GOAT-ed, you can’t blame the Buckeyes’ coach. “I watched from afar as coach [Nick] Saban do that when he was at Alabama, you know, having different coordinators move around,” Day said at the Big 10 Media Days.
“And so whether it’s the offense or the defense, we want to have continuity year after year, even though a coordinator may leave, to create stability long term.” Nevertheless, the biggest difference is the way the coaches run the program. The target? You win every game. The aim? You dominate on the turf. Same expectations, but different methodology, and Caleb Downs is winning at it all.
The post Months After Difficult Alabama Exit, OSU’s Caleb Downs Reveals True Feelings on Nick Saban in Honest Revelation appeared first on EssentiallySports.