Caleb Downs: S · Ohio State · #2.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Caleb Downs
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches at two programs in three seasons: Nick Saban and Ryan Day. All-America (Consensus) in 2025 made it three straight seasons on the honors list. On tape: 9 tackles against Illinois, Week 7, 2025.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
68 tackles. 1 pass defended. 2 interceptions. 5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Los Angeles Times Nov 1
Eleven Warriors Oct 29Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | 68 | 45 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 81 | 48 | 7.5 | 0.5 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 | Alabama | 107 | 70 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 256 | 163 | 16.0 | 1.5 | 10 | 6 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 14 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 14-7vs No. 1 Texas | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 70-0vs Grambling | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 37-9vs Ohio | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-6@ Washington | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 42-3vs Minnesota | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-16@ No. 17 Illinois | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 8 | W 34-0@ Wisconsin | 6 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 38-14vs Penn State | 5 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 34-10@ Purdue | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 48-10vs UCLA | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 42-9vs Rutgers | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 27-9@ No. 15 Michigan | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 15 | L 10-13vs No. 2 Indiana | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 14-24vs No. 10 Miami | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 68 | 45 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 |
Week 10 · 2025
W 38-14
vs Penn State
1 interception · 1 tackle for loss · 5 tackles
Dominant 24-point win at home against Penn State.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
1%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
68tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%5 TFL68 tackles · 5 for loss · 1 sack · 1 pass breakup · 2 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 14 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 4.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 4.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Day
Pass share
47.0%
408 pass / 461 run
Plays / game
62.1
14 games
Team sack rate
3.3%
395 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
First team on every major selector list.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former five-star. Now #122 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2025
Named Consensus All-American — recognized on 3+ of the 5 NCAA-recognized selector lists.
How it ended
Three seasons, at Alabama and Ohio State, 256 tackles, the Lott IMPACT Trophy (2025) — drafted at #11 overall by the Dallas Cowboys.
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · UNANIMOUS
Unanimous AA (2025)
Named to 10 first-team selectors
National awards
Lott IMPACT, Thorpe
2025 season
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2025
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Nick Saban and Ryan Day.
Next stop · NFL
Dallas Cowboys2026 NFL rookie season
Dallas Cowboys2026 NFL rookie season
