NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Oklahoma Sooners' stud who played last year but is entering the draft just can't stay away from the team

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Justin Churchill | Last updated Apr 3, 2025 2:53 PM ET

Ethan Downs, from Weatherford, Oklahoma , played defensive end for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2021 to 2024. He was a pretty big name coming up, and during his time with the Sooners, he ended up becoming one of the most loved players there is.

And, he loves the university back just as much, if not more -- so much so, he can't stay away from the team, even when he's not on it anymore.

A four-star recruit, he joined the Sooners in 2021 and stayed through his senior year, fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing for one of the greatest football programs in the history of the game. And, now, he's trying to live out another dream by becoming an NFL player. He's done his combine and pro day stuff, and now is just waiting for the 2025 NFL Draft to roll around.

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As a freshman in 2021, Downs played in all 13 games, mostly on special teams and as a backup, with 14 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a half sack. In 2022, his sophomore year, he started all 13 games, leading the team with 13.5 tackles for loss and tying for the lead with 4.5 sacks, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors.

In 2023, his junior year, he started all 13 games again, recording 28 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and his first interception, again making second-team All-Big 12. In his final 2024 season, he started 12 of 13 games, missing one due to injury, and had 29 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and three sacks.

But, it may be about what he's done off the field that's just as important.

Ethan Downs is out at practice helping Miguel Chavis coach up the #Sooners’ defensive ends. pic.twitter.com/vZHFNbKRjT
— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune) April 1, 2025

Downs has won a few different awards off the field for helping others, and now he's trying to help this new iteration of the football team win. And right now, winning starts in the spring. Downs was seen at a spring practice this week helping out the defensive line with the coaches.

Who knows, when his NFL career is all said and done, we could see Downs back in Norman as a position coach.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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