Former Buckeyes Star Caleb Downs' College Experience Splits His Allegiances

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Former Ohio State safety, now Dallas Cowboy, put together quite the resume in college. 

He spent his first year in Tuscaloosa playing for the Crimson Tide and specifically, for Nick Saban. After Downs put together one of the best seasons that a safety possibly could, especially a freshman one, Downs was on the move. 

Nick Saban made the decision to retire, and with that, Downs decided to hit the transfer portal. His re-recruitment was very quick. He was in Columbus almost immediately and committed to being a Buckeye.

In his two years in Columbus, he became one of the most complete college football players that you will ever see. That propelled him to become the 11th overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

So, after all of that, who does Downs claim for college?

He spoke about it on the St. Brown podcast with Amon Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown. Equanimeous asked him that very question, "So, do you claim Ohio State or Bama?"

Downs responded with a nervous laugh, saying, "I'm a Buckeye, but I claim coach Saban as my coach somehow, but I'm a Buckeye."

This is probably a fair way to look at the whole situation and likely a very similar way that a lot of Alabama players from that era look at it. Saban's departure was a major sliding-doors moment for many players who entered the transfer portal. He is an easy sell, especially in this era of college football.

In the past, it was key not to commit to a place because of a coach, because players had very little flexibility when it came to leaving. Now that there are no rules, it's very easy for a guy like Saban to recruit and tell players that if he leaves, they could leave too.

Now, it is kind of a bummer for the Buckeyes that he wasn't fully like "I'm a Buckeye through and through," but in this case, beggars can't be choosers.

Downs was everything and more for the Buckeyes in his two seasons in Columbus and helped lead Ohio State to the National Championship in 2024. The Buckeyes' inability to get it done in 2025 had absolutely nothing to do with Downs. He was awesome last year for Ohio State and was let down by the offense.

Regardless of who he claims, thanks to Saban, Downs has the best resume of teams ever. He played at Alabama, Ohio State, and then got drafted to the Dallas Cowboys. I'm not sure that you could hand-pick three better teams to play for.

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