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After an outstanding first year, Alabama safety Caleb Downs plans to use the transfer portal, with Georgia emerging as the "clear favorite" to sign him, according to 247Sports. As a standout defensive back in the league for a Crimson Tide squad that advanced to the College Football Playoffs, Downs won SEC Freshman of the Year.
The departure of coach Nick Saban created a 30-day opening for Alabama players to transfer, even if it is outside of a set time for athletes to use the portal. Losing Downs would be devastating for the team and head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Downs, who is regarded by 247Sports as a five-star recruit and the best safety in the Class of 2023, made his debut for Alabama early in the season and lived up to the excitement he created as a high school prospect. With 107 stops and two interceptions at the end of the season, he was named to the second team of the SEC and the FWAA Freshman All-American.
Pro Football Focus gave him the highest coverage rating of any safety in the league (88.9), and he became the first freshman in Alabama school history to lead the team in tackles. On November 18, Downs demonstrated his potential as a punter returner by scoring an 85-yard return touchdown against Chattanooga.
Why Georgia is seen to be a possible destination
Travaris Robinson, an Alabama native who coached the Crimson Tide's cornerbacks for the last two seasons, was recently hired by Georgia as co-defensive coordinator and safety coach. UGA is an obvious choice for Robinson, a seasoned SEC coach with a strong rapport with Downs.
Downs was a player at Hoschton, Georgia's Mill Creek High School. The Georgia campus in Athens is less than an hour's drive away, and Downs gave the Bulldogs serious consideration after high school. Additionally, with safety Javon Bullard declaring for the NFL Draft, Downs now has a hole to cover.
But Downs would have no lack of admirers if his relationship with Georgia didn't work out. Easily the best non-quarterback transfer of the cycle, he is already regarded as one of the best safeties in college football and has two more seasons left before he can be selected in the NFL Draft. If a transfer to Georgia doesn't work out, 247Sports reports that Ohio State is a possible location to watch for the elite defensive back.
Effect on Alabama: With Nick Saban's retirement, Downs is not the only well-known player in Alabama's secondary to leave. Dezz Ricks, a former five-star cornerback, declared his transfer to Texas A&M on Tuesday. Trey Amos and Antonio Kite, two more corners, have also accessed the site, creating uncertainty for Alabama's 2024 secondary as DeBoer organizes his rookie personnel.
After the two collaborated at Indiana in 2019, DeBoer is allegedly appointing South Alabama coach Kane Wommack as Alabama's defensive coordinator. In only his third season with the Jaguars, Wommack recorded a 22-16 record and, for the first time in school history, guided the team to consecutive bowl games.
It is also rumored that Buffalo coach Maurice Linguist would become a member of the Crimson Tide defensive staff, most likely coaching with the secondary. The pair provides offensive-minded DeBoer with two rather eye-catching defensive staff additions. However, Wommack hasn't worked in the SEC since his graduate assistant position at Ole Miss in 2013, and Linguist last had a position in the league in 2019 as Texas A&M's cornerbacks coach. As a result, it is unlikely that any of them had any prior connections to the current Crimson Tide players via high school recruitment.
