Ohio State's Caleb Downs Offers Interesting Comparison for Nick Saban

Caleb Downs made his first impression on the college football world with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2023. Playing in Nick Saban’s defensive backfield as a true freshman is not an opportunity afforded to many. Still, the conversation in Tuscaloosa took off during Downs’ first season, with many suggesting Downs was the best safety Saban ever brought into the program.

Of course, when Saban retired, Downs entered the Transfer Portal, signed with Ryan Day and the Buckeyes, won a national championship, and solidified himself as the best defensive player in the nation ahead of his presumed final season at the college level.

Having played a full season at two of the sport’s most prestigious programs, one under arguably the greatest head coach in the history of the game and the other for the Buckeyes coach who has 25 years to match that legacy with one national title under his belt already, Downs has a perspective of elite coaching matched by few players in the history of college football.

Recently, Downs detailed the differences between his two head coaches with championship pedigrees and wildly different approaches to reach the end goal.

"I would say the two biggest differences for me is just the way that the coaches run the program," Downs said in an interview with RG. "It's just a different philosophy. The standard is the same and the expectation is the same — that you win every game and that you go out and dominate every play. But the means of how you do it is different, so I would say that's the biggest thing. The differences is how the head man wants to run the program."

Saban and Day have both shown in their own ways how they care deeply about their players while holding them to the highest standards, both on and off the field. As Downs pointed out, though, their philosophies are understandably different. Saban has a more traditional approach, complete with the stereotypical coaching yelling from the sideline. Day, in a modern fashion, tends to be more collected and cool-headed.

Downs said Saban is “the most consistent person that I've ever met." He said Day is a caring coach who knows his players on a more personal level off the field.

“That type of vibe, and I feel like that's a special thing as a coach, not always being like, 'I have to be the one that does everything,” Downs said. “To be able to say, 'Hey, my players may have some input, and I'm going to take the input and see what we can do [with] it.'"

Rumors are circulating that Saban could return to the sidelines soon. He’ll turn 74 this October. While his approach is so vastly different from today’s coaches, many of whom are closer to Day’s age range in their mid-to-late 40s and early 50s, Saban’s philosophies hardly faltered as his final game ended just one yard short of yet another national championship appearance.