Faith shapes many lives, and Caleb Downs is one among them. Starting off his college legacy with Alabama, where he became an overnight sensation, but then a national title victory with Ohio State set him on the right trajectory. And why wouldn’t it? This explosive DB has excellence rooted deep in his blood, and with his father, Gary Downs, a former NFL player, guiding him, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t make an impact. But if you ask about football, two other things are important for Downs, and that’s why he’s so attached to his No. 2 jersey that it even stirred up some drama at Ohio State.

Well, Caleb Downs, a talented 5-star recruit who was set to make an impact on Nick Saban‘s field, but with his retirement, even his time ended at Bama, as he entered the portal and got straight into Ohio State. The team he already rejected once—now, after getting in, the biggest issue was his jersey number, which usually ranges between 20 and 49 for the DBs, but for Downs, No. 2 was his number, as the number in that range wasn’t available.

But destiny followed his call, and he got the No. 2. Now, the bigger question is why this number is so important for Caleb Downs. Talking about it, he said, “Kobe was my favorite player as a kid, and then when I moved teams, the kid who had 24 wouldn’t give it up. So, I was actually like, sad about it at first. And then they were like, ‘You could wear number 2,’ and it was like, ‘Oh, okay, fine, whatever.'” So, the number, which didn’t carry any meaning for Caleb at that time, became very significant later on.

Explaining how he associates it with now, Caleb Downs said, “It became [clear that] there are two things that are more important than me, more important than my playing football. My faith in Jesus Christ and my family. So, those two things are what I wear on my chest every game, and those are the two most important things in my life.” Faith turned Downs’ decision to choose No.2 over 24 and also became a reason behind his move to Ohio State as his father, Gary, told CBS Sports that this decision is “the voice of god.”

And the result is pretty evident, as since arriving at Ohio State, Caleb has been nothing but explosive. This guy is constantly disrupting the opposing offense, making tackles near the line of scrimmage, and dropping back in coverage. Just like a do-it-all guy, he became the no. 3 most impactful player on On3’s top 10 list. And why wouldn’t he? This guy leads all Ohio State’s defensive backs in tackles with 65 also with 6.5 tackles for loss, one interception and three pass breakups. His best showing came against Texas in week 1 where he recorded five tackles and helped Bucks contain Arch Manning to just 170 passing yards.

But with on-field moves, he’s also turning heads off it.

Caleb Downs takes a shot at Texas A&M

Well, the conferences often get into a fight where everyone’s trying to prove their dominance, and the Big Ten and the SEC are the frontrunners in the race, and the fight for supremacy is still going strong, and Caleb Downs just added fuel to the fire. On his Downs 2 Business podcast with his brother Josh, the Ohio State safety claimed that Texas A&M had an unfair advantage at Kyle Field.

“Playing at Texas A&M my freshman year, that game was the loudest that I had ever been at,” Downs said, remembering the 2023 game when he played for Alabama. “And Auburn, that kind of reminded me of Oregon last year. I will say that it was very similar, but that Texas A&M game, they were pumping noise into the stadium.” Even when Josh Downs tried defending the Aggies’ huge crowd, Caleb stuck to his guns, saying the atmosphere felt pretty one-sided and manipulated.

And Downs didn’t just stop at that; he even shared his experience and said, “I was literally sitting on the sideline, and I could feel noise coming from under the stadium.” Then, even after comparing it to Penn State, the atmosphere at Kyle Field just goes to another level. “Penn State’s environment was okay. I mean, it got lit for one minute because they had that pick six, but the rest of the game I was on the sideline just like, ‘ehh.’” Given that he’d intercepted A&M quarterback Max Johnson in that game, helping Alabama beat the Aggies 26-20, his words make sense.

There’s no doubt that Kyle Field is known for its massive crowds, which often exceed 100,000, and it also has a reputation as a tough place to play. Even Nick Saban called it the SEC’s most intimidating environment to play in. But unlike Caleb Downs, many suspect the “roar” is genuine crowd noise, not artificial. Now, whether he actually believes A&M uses piped-in noise or is just trying to grab the spotlight and get reactions from Aggies fans and players, they might just be waiting for the right time to fire back.