Caleb Downs' Off-Field Actions Get Spotlight Treatment After Ohio State's Win Over Washington

Downs' Charitable Actions Draw Attention

Downs' work off the field got the spotlight treatment from journalist Adam King recently.

He showed a different side of the Buckeyes' all-world safety as he worked to tackle hunger in central Ohio.

"We wanted to tackle with our foundation, me and my brother's foundation, to tackle homelessness and a piece of that is the fact that, you don't have to worry about having a meal every day, you can put that towards your house or put that towards having a place to live," Downs said as he appeared in a video about his recent exploits.

"So, this is a piece of that, and, I mean, food is something that everybody needs, something that is a necessity for life," Downs added. "It's the everyday things that matter the most."

Caleb and his brother Josh Downs' foundation is called the Trust Downs Foundation, with a website that can be viewed here.

Buckeyes Defense Set to Battle Golden Gophers

The Buckeyes are scheduled to face coach PJ Fleck's upset-minded Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, and coordinator Matt Patricia's unit has caught Fleck's attention.

Fleck said that Washington had an "above average performance" against Patricia's defense this past Saturday in a losing effort.

He praised Downs and Patricia's defense for being "really good tacklers," "smart," and tough to scheme against.

"It has a lot of that NFL feel to it...Every time you're at the line of scrimmage it's a different front, it's a different coverage, it's very challenging," Fleck added.

Downs and the Buckeyes have a challenge on their hands with Gophers QB Drake Lindsey coming off of a Big Ten Freshman of the Week performance against Rutgers in a 31-28 Minnesota win.

The Buckeyes' defense is hungry for a potential shutout against a team they have the talent to dominate. Expect Downs and company's best effort this weekend with Lindsey and the Gophers in need of a better than expected performance to give themselves a chance to win in the Horseshoe in Columbus.