COLUMBUS, Ohio — Caleb Downs is a hard-hitting safety, a defender who leaves quarterbacks puzzled, a cover athlete for this year’s deluxe edition of College Football 26 and a future first-round selection for an NFL franchise.
And yet, beneath the humbleness and quiet confidence of Ohio State’s prized 2024 transfer portal addition, there’s a pause, smirk and chuckle that reminds you he’s still a 20-year-old college student.
Ask him about golf, and you’ll see.
“I’m a golfer,” Downs told cleveland.com on Wednesday, “probably, like, three to four times a week.”
Then came the pause.
“Uh, sometimes five, sadly,” he added.
Then came the chuckle, a familiar one for those who adopt the 18-hole hobby.
“I probably golf a little too much,” Downs joked. “That’s all about to come to a halt in two-and-a-half, three weeks.”
While summer days have paved the way for an offseason split between the links — Downs estimates about half the team golfs — and the weight room, a new season is on the horizon for the Buckeyes and the rising junior.
Downs is regarded by many, including EA Sports, as the top defender in college football entering the 2025 campaign.
But even off a national title and unanimous All-American honors, the star safety is hungry for more.
How Caleb Downs found out he was a cover athlete
Downs got a call from his marketing agent in the winter, informing the safety he would be on the cover of EA Sports’ College Football 26.
“Dang,” he thought. “At the end of the day, in 15-20 years, I can tell my son, tell my daughter, that your dad’s on the cover of a video game. That’s something a lot of people can’t say.”
Alongside an assortment of the game’s biggest names, including Ohio State coach Ryan Day and receiver Jeremiah Smith, Downs went to the Rose Bowl — the site of OSU’s quarterfinal thumping of Oregon — for a photoshoot in March.
“It was a blessing just because we had been through a whole season together,” Downs said. “Our relationships have all grown. To all be in that situation, it’s surreal.”
With the honor has come responsibility, though.
“I’ve had a lot of people asking me for codes,” Downs said.
The return of the video game after a prolonged hiatus was the talk of the college football offseason last year, and it gave teammates a new competitive avenue.
That’s continued this year, with Downs calling linebacker Sonny Styles the biggest trash talker in the locker room.
“He’s been talking about it for two days straight now,” Down said.
Caleb Downs’ motivation for 2025
In two seasons, one at Alabama and one at Ohio State, Downs has collected a vast list of accolades, ranging from Southeastern Conference freshman of the year to national champion.
But at both stops, he’s lost to Michigan. He’s also yet to win a Big Ten title.
Those hurdles aren’t on his mind, though.
“I try to look at every game like the same thing,” Downs said. “At the end of the day, I’m only trying to prepare one day at a time. That’s the only thing I can control.
“I can’t say I’m looking at those bigger goals and bigger aspirations throughout the season. I’m really just trying to prepare every day to make sure that when that comes, that I’m prepared to play.”
Ohio State
Caleb Downs is one of three returning starters on Ohio State football's 2025 defense.Getty Images
In concerning himself with the present, Downs has been a leading voice in quieting the past.
“We had the agreement that at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter who we were last year as a team,” Downs said. “We’ve got a different group of guys. We’ve got different people that are in different positions, so we had to reset and forget about last year.”
How Caleb Downs handles stardom
Smith is the highest-rated player in the video game while Downs ranks second. Along with being the best players on their respective sides of the ball, they deal with a level of celebrity difficult to find at their age.
Downs has learned to manage it with the help of a foundation featuring a former NFL running back (Gary Downs) as a father and a brother (Josh Downs) currently on the Colts.
“You can’t really look at it (stardom) much because it can be taken away like it’s nothing,” Downs said. “They can love you now and hate you later.... Every day I try to be my best self and wherever the cards fall, the cards fall.”
His popularity will only grow as the upcoming season, potentially his final one at the collegiate level, approaches.
Downs will be in Las Vegas representing the Buckeyes at Big Ten Football Media Days in two weeks. Then, the grind of a new football season, and the end of a golf season, begins.
“This season is coming fast,” Downs said. “It’s just crazy how fast it came back around.”
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