When an Ohio State football player's career comes to a close, coach Ryan Day never sugarcoats his true feelings.
The same can be said for safety Caleb Downs, as Wednesday night was the end of the Buckeyes' postseason run with a 24-14 loss to the Miami Hurricanes. With the NFL Draft looming, Day told reporters how much Downs meant to the program.
"What Caleb Downs has done for Ohio State and does every day, most of it you see is on the field, but what I see is off the field. He's a special young man who has done a lot for this program," Day said. "I'll forever be indebted for what he's done for us. Not only his play but what he stands for off the field, who he is."
Day gave a shoutout to Downs' family, too.
"His family is tremendous," Day said. He played his tail off tonight. Nobody hurts more than he does."
Downs previously spoke about what the Big Ten presented in terms of challenges and how he grew quickly at Ohio State.
“I would say in the Big Ten, you’re going to have four or five games [in a season], maybe where you’re going to have to play high-level competition and really have to be at your highest point. So that’s a difference,” Downs said on "See Ball Get Ball." “But then again, I said that when I first got to Ohio State and then a lot of the teams that were in the Big Ten, when it came to bowl games, ended up beating the SEC teams [last season]. So I feel like that kind of negated what I said.”
According to ESPN's Matt Miller, Downs has a tremendous ceiling of being the only safety with a first-round NFL Draft grade.
Therefore, Downs is a prospect to pay attention to as the spring draws closer.