New Ohio State Safety Caleb Downs’ Shares Crazy Transfer Portal Story.

New Ohio State safety Caleb Downs had an interesting experience in the NCAA Transfer Portal.

This offseason, the Ohio State Buckeyes signed probably the top name in the NCAA Transfer Portal: former Alabama Crimson Tide star safety Caleb Downs.

Downs was the crown gem in the Buckeyes’ already impressive recruiting class, which included a new starting quarterback in Will Howard and a new star running back in Quinshon Judkins.

And as soon as he stepped foot on campus in Columbus, Downs was already one of, if not the top talent on the entire roster.

So it should come as no surprise that the moment he hit the portal, Downs became the top target of nearly every program in the country. Downs opened up about the experience during his first interviews with the program on Tuesday, sharing a crazy story on Tuesday.

“I got 102 calls in one day – well not in one day, probably seven or eight hours,” Downs said. “Just being able to minimize what my mind was going through, that was a big thing for me to make a sound decision.”

Despite the enormous amount of interest in his talent – including from the likes of Georgia, Texas and other top programs with already impressive transfer hauls – it was the Buckeyes that won out in the end.

So what separated the Buckeyes? Downs’ relationship with head coach Ryan Day, and secondary coach Tim Walton.

“I just love the program here, I love Coach Walton, and love what the people had to say around here. I believe in Coach Day, and I believe in this team.”