Nick Saban's shocking decision to retire from coaching is continuing to ripple through Alabama football. While the decision to hire former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer was a great one and perhaps the best hire Alabama could make at the time, some of Saban's recruits are beginning to hit the portal after he decided to leave the program. A player has 30 days to enter the portal after their coach leaves the program. One player, Isaiah Bond, has already found a new home and transferred to the University of Texas shortly after Saban's retirement. But another player has recently entered the portal as well: true freshman safety Caleb Downs.
Downs was only a true freshman this season but he immediately asserted himself as one of the best players in Alabama's defense. He led the team in tackles, picked off two passes, and even returned a punt for a touchdown. That's just the beginning of the accolades Downs accrued this season.
There will be no shortage of suitors for Downs in the slightest. The question then would become: where is the best place for Downs to go? Two programs stand out as options for Downs' next team.
Georgia Bulldogs
This seems like it would make all the sense in the world for Downs. What coach has done a better job at producing pros on the defensive side of the field than Kirby Smart since he got to Georgia in 2016. From the 2017 NFL Draft onward, the Bulldogs have produced 15 first-round picks. Of those 15, ten have been defensive players, and of those ten players, three (Eric Stokes, Lewis Cine, and Deandre Baker) have been players in Georgia's secondary. That doesn't include Tyson Campbell either, who was the 33rd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Nick Saban made his way through the ranks first as defensive backs coach after playing the position at Kent State. With him out of the picture, there might not be another head coach in the country who specializes in developing defensive backs more than Kirby Smart (although Deion Sanders wasn't too shabby a defensive back himself). If Caleb Downs wants to go to a program that produces NFL talent at that position and be a part of a great defense and defensive coach, it's hard to find a better fit than the University of Georgia.
What also bolsters the case for Downs to join the Georgia program is that it is close to home. Downs is from Hoschton, Georgia, which is a mere 43-minute drive to Athens. Downs can get the best coaching at his position that anybody could ask for and play close to home. It's hard to find a better combination than that.
North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels are a bit off the beaten path, but there is a connection here between the North Carolina football program and Downs. Downs' brother, Josh, starred for the Heels at wide receiver for three years before turning pro and shining with the Indianapolis Colts. Josh Downs played at North Carolina while his uncle, former NFL cornerback Dre Bly, was a cornerbacks coach for the Tar Heels at the same time.
Bly has since gone back to the Detroit Lions, where he spent most of his NFL career, to be their cornerbacks coach. But the Tar Heels did just hire Geoff Collins to be their defensive coordinator. Collins spent five seasons as the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, so he should be familiar with Downs and his game. The program and head coach Mack Brown should be familiar with Caleb Downs as well. Maybe that could lead to Downs following his brother and playing at North Carolina.
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