Tag: Caleb Downs

6 players named finalists for 2023 All-American Bowl Player of the Year

Here are the six players who have been named finalists for the award this year.

Now that football season is over, it’s time to hand out some hardware. The biggest individual award in high school football is the All-American Bowl Player of the Year award.

Here are the six players who have been named finalists for the award this year, per NBC Sports.

Andrean (Ind.) LB Drayk Bowen

Bowen (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) did a bit of everything in 2022, totaling over 2,000 all purpose yards, 29 touchdowns and 144 total tackles. He’s on his way to Notre Dame next.

Mill Creek (Ga.) DB Caleb Downs

Downs (6-foot-0, 195 pounds) is the top safety in his class and No. 1 overall in Georgia. He also filled out the box score on both sides of the ball, posting 20 rushing touchdowns and 83 total tackles. He will be going to Alabama next year.

American Heritage (Fla.) WR Brandon Inniss

A top-five wideout in the 2023 recruiting cycle, Inniss (6-foot-0, 190 pounds) is joining Ohio State’s potent receiver corps. He racked up 73 catches, 1,336 yards and 15 touchdowns as a receiver and had another 500+ yards as a kick and punt returner.

King (Mich.) QB Dante Moore

A five-star quarterback who’s ranked No. 11 overall in his recruiting class, Moore (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) has flipped and signed with UCLA after initially committing to Oregon.

Manteca (Calif.) LB Blake Nichelson

Nichelson (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) got it done on both ends, posting 41 touchdowns from scrimmage, 4.5 sacks and seven passes defensed. He is on his way to Florida State.

El Campo (Texas) RB Rueben Owens II

Ranked the second-best running back in his class, Owens (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) scored a remarkable 46 rushing touchdowns this season. He has signed with Texas A&M.

The winner will be announced on Friday night, Jan. 6 at the 2023 All-American Bowl Awards Show.

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Everything Nick Saban said on Wednesday of early signing period

Everything Alabama football coach Nick Saban said on Wednesday of the early signing period.

[autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Alabama Crimson Tide once again dominate the recruiting trail and have hauled in the nation’s top class for the 2023 cycle.

Coach Saban doesn’t have time to bask in the glow of his recruiting prowess at the moment though as his team is currently in the midst of its preparation for Kansas State and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Following practice on Wednesday, coach Saban would step behind the podium at the Mal Moore Athletic Center to discuss how practice is going and his thoughts on the signing class.

Here is everything coach Saban had to say earlier this afternoon:

2023 5-star Safety Caleb Downs officially signs with Alabama

2023 five-star defensive back Caleb Downs is widely considered as the top recruit in the country. He signed his National Letter of Intent to Alabama on Wednesday morning.

One of the nation’s top-rated recruits has signed with Alabama. 2023 five-star safety Caleb Downs made things official with the Tide as he signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.

Downs is rated as the No. 6 overall recruit in the country, according to 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. He is listed as 6-foot-0, 195 pounds. 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins compares Downs’ game to Texans safety Justin Reid. He also projects Downs to be a first-round pick at the next level.

He will likely be a starter next season in Tuscaloosa with both of the Tide’s starting safeties graduating. Downs will be a key piece to Alabama’s defense for many years to come.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover Alabama football and the early signing period as more commits sign their national letters of intent.

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Alabama takes over top spot in On3’s Consensus Team Rankings

After a dominating month of July on the recruiting trail, Nick Saban and Alabama take over the top spot in On3’s Consensus Team Rankings.

After a week that saw not one but two five-star commitments, [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and Alabama have now taken over the top spot in On3’s Consensus Team Rankings.

Over the last few days, the Crimson Tide has received commitments from both the nation’s top safety in [autotag]Caleb Downs[/autotag] and the nation’s top running back in [autotag]Richard Young[/autotag]. Downs and Young join fellow five-star prospects [autotag]Tony Mitchell[/autotag] and Jahlil Hurley as the top-rated commitments in Alabama’s class.

Alabama has two of the top ten quarterbacks in [autotag]Eli Holstein[/autotag] and Dylan Lonergan as well as two of the top three running backs in the aforementioned Young and [autotag]Justice Haynes[/autotag].

Currently, Alabama has a total of 16 commitments, 10 of which are ranked within the top 200 and there are no signs of the Tide slowing down anytime soon.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to monitor the Alabama Crimson Tide on the recruiting trail and beyond.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

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Alabama Morning Drive: Tide set to host five-star Keon Keeley over the weekend

Five-star Notre Dame commit set to start Alabama visit today.

Good morning, Tide fans and welcome to our Friday edition of Alabama Morning Drive.

[autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and Alabama are fresh off the massive commitment of five-star [autotag]Caleb Downs[/autotag] and now the coaching staff is set to host another five-star on an unofficial visit this weekend in [autotag]Keon Keeley[/autotag].

Keeley is the nation’s No. 3 overall prospect according to On3’s rankings and is currently committed to Notre Dame.

Keeley has been committed to the Fighting Irish for more than a year now, but it appears the talented pass rusher is still combing through his options and a flip to the Crimson Tide is not completely out of the question. Receiving this visit is certainly a step in the right direction.

Let’s take a quick look at a few other stories to be aware of this morning.

Five-star safety Caleb Downs commits to Alabama

Caleb Downs chose Alabama. The Crimson Tide have their third five-star commit of the class of 2023.

Alabama has its third five-star recruit in the 2023 class, and the school year hasn’t even begun. On Wednesday, star safety Caleb Downs announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide.

Downs, ranked No. 12 in the class, is the top-ranked player committed to Alabama. He joins cornerback Jahlil Hurley and safety Tony Mitchell as the three five-star players, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Downs chose Alabama over Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame and North Carolina, according to ESPN.

As a junior at Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.), Downs recorded 77 tackles and five interceptions.

He told Rivals that cornerbacks coach Travaris Robinson had been recruiting Downs since the athlete’s freshman year. Robinson remained persistent despite changing schools — he was a defensive coordinator at South Carolina through the 2020 season, defensive backs coach at Miami in the 2021 season and is now at Alabama — which played a role in Downs committing to Alabama.

The Crimson Tide have dominated recruiting thus far, particularly in the secondary. Three of the top four defensive backs in the class have chosen Alabama, providing a potentially ridiculous defense for years to come. The recruiting now consists of three five-star players, nine four-stars — two of whom are the top ranked JuCo players — a pair of three-stars and an unranked kicker. Altogether, that amounts to the fifth-best class on the 247Composite rankings, as of July 27.

Ohio State beat out by Alabama for services of 5-star safety Caleb Downs

This one stings a wee bit. #GoBucks

The Ohio State football program has the top-ranked recruiting class so far for 2023, but there have been some recent swings and misses, with Alabama throwing the latest strike.

Though 5-star 2023 safety Caleb Downs seemed to be trending slightly to the Crimson Tide, there was still hope that Ohio State was still in the mix and would win the razor-thin race to have him become a part of B.I.A. In the end though, Downs announced his choice to commit to Alabama on Wednesday, taking arguably the most-prioritized target remaining in the class for the Buckeyes.

At 6-foot, 185-pounds, Downs is ranked as the No. 1 safety in the class and the 12th overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle. Out of Hoschton, Georgia, the battle had seemed to be between the Buckeyes, Tide, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Georgia. Many close to the situation believed it really to be a close call between OSU and ‘Bama however according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

There are still some big fish out there, but this one stings with what Ohio State is trying to build in the secondary. Off to other things and the efforts to close out what will still be one of the top 2023 classes.

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Alabama fends off Georgia and Ohio State to land 2023 5-star safety Caleb Downs

Alabama landed the nation’s top safety in 2023 recruit Caleb Downs. He chose the Crimson Tide over other schools like Ohio State and Georgia.

The 2023 Alabama football recruiting class just got a huge boost on Wednesday afternoon when 2023 safety and Georgia native Caleb Downs announced his commitment to Alabama. The commitment gives the Crimson Tide the No. 5 overall recruiting class, according to 247Sports’ rankings. He is the third player from the state of Georgia that has committed to Alabama.

Downs has a bloodline of football talent. His father, Gary played running back at North Carolina State before being drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 1994 NFL draft. His brother, Josh currently plays wide receiver at North Carolina and was recently named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list. If that wasn’t enough, his uncle is Dre Bly. Bly was selected twice to the Pro Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The youngest of the Downs family, Caleb, is now set to make a name for himself. He will look to do that with the help of two of the best assistant coaches in the country, Charles Kelly and Travaris Robinson. The Georgia native plays with great instincts and is a sideline-to-sideline type of player. 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins compared Downs to Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid. In regards to how Downs plays, here is what Ivins had to say:

“The type of prospect that checks off all the right boxes. Always looks to be one step ahead of others. Athletic enough to get across the field and erase a touchdown, but also physical enough to come downhill and meet a running back in the A or B gap. Smooth and in control while in reverse as he keeps eyes in the backfield. Quick to trigger. Plants his cleats and drives towards the football better than most his age. Takes the right angles while in pursuit and has a few tricks to shed blocks once he meets traffic. Has experience working out of a variety of different coverages and has shown that he can be rather effective as a slot defender in certain situations. Owns a high football IQ, which likely stems from his film study habits as he likes to watch cut-up after cut-up and identify trends. Viewed by his high school coaches as not only a team leader but also a winner and someone that is going to do whatever it takes to elevate the play of those around him.”

Roll Tide Wire breaks down his recruiting profile below.

5-star S Caleb Downs headlines recruits set to commit in final week of July

The class of 2023 continues to create major recruiting buzz ahead of the 2022-23 season high school football season.

With the final week of July under way, the 2022-23 high school year is getting closer to commencement (and, in some school districts, has already begun). More and more football players are getting their commitments locked in ahead of the upcoming school year.

Eighteen players in the class of 2023 ranked three-star rank or better on 247Sports are set to commit between July 25 and 31, according to the recruitment outlet. This group is headlined by five-star safety Caleb Downs, who will announce his decision on Tuesday.

Here is a quick look at the players who are scheduled to announce their commitments in the coming week. The dates are according to 247Sports.

5-star DB Caleb Downs names contenders, sets commitment date

The top recruit in Georgia has locked in a commitment date

Mill Creek safety recruit Caleb Downs is the top-rated player at his position in the rising senior class. Downs is also the top-ranked player in Georgia. He’s ranked as the No. 12 recruit in the class of 2023.

Downs plays high school football, baseball, and basketball for Mill Creek in Hoschton, Georgia.

Downs’ father, Gary, played in the NFL and at North Carolina State. Gary is currently the running backs coach at East Tennessee State University. His brother, Josh, is a star wide receiver at UNC. Josh Downs came to UNC as a four-star recruit. Additionally, Caleb Downs’ uncle Dre Bly is a former NFL star and is the defensive backs coach at UNC.

Who are Caleb Downs’ top schools and when will he be committing?