Battle for star Alabama safety transfer brewing between CFP contenders

Caleb Downs was a revelation for the Alabama Crimson Tide as a freshman. 

That wasn't surprising because he had an incredible pedigree as a five-star recruit. His father, Gary Downs, played seven years in the NFL. His brother, Josh Downs, was a third-round selection of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2023 NFL Draft. His uncle is Dre Bly, the two-time Pro Bowl corner and Super Bowl champion.

Downs was ranked as the No. 1 safety recruit in the 2023 class and he followed those massive expectations up with a freshman campaign that saw him win SEC Freshman of the Year after notching 107 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. 

He was a star for Alabama, but with Nick Saban retiring, Downs officially decided to take his star power elsewhere via the transfer portal.

Where to now? 

It's worth noting that while any coach and university can now reach out to Downs, the young superstar's father recently told 247Sports that a decision will be made soon and prior relationships are really going to count.

"Our time is so short and we don't have time to look at a lot of unknowns," Gary Downs told Steve Wiltfong. "It has to be previous relationships with people. We want to try and find a place with stability, the same coach and same coordinators, knowing you have to be prepared for change. He just turned 19. This is a lot for him to process right now. You don't go into this situation thinking about transferring."

Two programs should immediately come to mind for a Downs landing spot: Georgia and Ohio State.

Georgia, in particular, should be a massive factor because Downs hails from Hoschton, Georgia, and UGA's new defensive coordinator, Travaris Robinson, was one of his primary recruiters at Alabama. Kirby Smart recently plucked Robinson from Alabama and gave him a promotion. Smart also appears to have a good relationship with Downs.

UGA is certainly the front-runner, here, and likely will wind up the winner of this transfer portal battle. But don't count Ohio State out. Ohio State defensive back coach Tim Wilton apparently has already flown to Georgia to meet with Downs and the Buckeyes are expected to be aggressive in their approach with the safety.

Notably, both Georgia and Ohio State were among Downs' finalists as a recruit before he committed to Saban and Alabama. His other finalist was Notre Dame.