Could Ohio State safety Caleb Downs also play on offense? 'He has the capability to do it'
Ohio State is looking at Caleb Downs, the All-America transfer safety from Alabama, as an additional option for its offensive backfield.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said Downs is seeing snaps at running back in addition to safety as a potential contingency plan for this fall.
“I know that he has the capability to do it,” Day said. “I know he has the athleticism to do it. We’ll see where it goes.”
Day said Downs, who transferred to Ohio State in January, has spent time in running back meetings and took occasional reps at the position during individual drills in spring practices in March and April.
The potential for Downs playing both sides of the ball was a topic of conversation when the Buckeyes first recruited him out of high school in suburban Atlanta several years ago and again after his freshman season with the Crimson Tide when he put his name in the transfer portal in the aftermath of coach Nick Saban's retirement.
“I know it's something that he enjoys,” Day said, “having the ball in his hands.”
Downs did not appear at running back with the Crimson Tide last season while he led them with 107 tackles, but he was at least versatile enough to be featured as a punt returner. He returned four of them, including taking a punt 85 yards for a touchdown in a rout of Chattanooga.
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“Ultimately, we think his ceiling is highest on defense,” Day said, “but having guys go on either side of the ball and just listen in the meetings is really healthy for their development. So we're going to do that regardless.”
The Buckeyes have little question at the top of their depth chart at running back, resulting from the return of TreVeyon Henderson, who led them in rushing in two out of the last three seasons, and the addition of Mississippi transfer Quinshon Judkins, who ran for 1,000 yards in his two seasons at with the Rebels.
But their other two scholarship backs — James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon — are freshmen, leaving them without much experience behind Henderson and Judkins after Dallan Hayden, who spent two seasons at Ohio State, transferred to Colorado earlier this spring, and Chip Trayanum transferred to Kentucky last winter. TC Caffey, a walk-on, has 10 career carries, rushing for 66 yards and a touchdown in 2022.
The need for depth could become more critical if the Buckeyes see a longer season as a result of the expansion of the College Football Playoff, which will introduce a bracket that includes 12 teams later this year.
The larger format could result in teams playing as many as 16 or 17 games in a season that goes deeper into January. In the era of the four-team playoff, teams never played more than 15 games.
"It's going to be a long season," Day said. "We have to make sure we have contingency plans in place."
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football: Will Alabama transfer Caleb Downs play RB?
