Top-tier recruits blossom into star freshmen for Alabama

The Alabama Crimson Tide has only two true freshmen in the starting lineup this season, but the highly ranked recruits have more than lived up to the hype.

Left tackle Kadyn Proctor and strong safety Caleb Downs are already playing well, and their improvement as the season has progressed aligns with the rising fortunes of the once-moribund Crimson Tide (9-1, 7-0). 

Proctor, the nation's No. 10 recruit according to ESPN, and Downs, listed at No. 11, both were named starters at the season's beginning, and high-level play has helped them retain a grip on sizeable playing time.

Proctor, for instance, has played 507 snaps in 10 games, according to ESPN. While his 11 knockdown blocks may not jump off the page, it's his progression as the season has worn on that has Tide fans salivating at his potential.

As Chase Goodbread noted for the Tuscaloosa News, a once-ineffective offensive line has improved in no small part due to the play of Proctor, who earned his first Player of the Week win after the Tide downed LSU earlier this month.

Head coach Nick Saban credited the growth to confidence.

"[Earlier in the season,] he was apprehensive about doing what he was supposed to do even when he knew what he was supposed to do," Saban said, as quoted by Goodbread. "I think all that comes with confidence. It's like young guys at any position, they don't want to make a call because they don't want to be wrong. But when you get experienced and gain confidence, which you do by making mistakes and learning from them. He's continuing to progress and continuing to improve."

While Proctor's growth has aided a strengthening Tide offense, Downs' steady play has anchored a defense that many feel is returning to the dominant force of teams past.

Downs — again, a true freshman playing safety — leads the Tide with 83 tackles, a figure that puts him ranked fifth in the SEC. He also has a pair of picks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

As On3 beat reporter Clint Lamb notes, Downs' play on the field belies his years, as he "just doesn't play like a true freshman."