Caleb Downs is quickly flexed by Ohio State’s NIL Collective and signs like an NFL free agent.
Caleb Downs committed to Ohio State on Friday night, shocking the college football world. Not too long after Kalen DeBoer was named Nick Saban’s replacement, the former defensive back from Alabama logged onto the transfer portal. He was regarded as Georgia’s lock.
But the Buckeyes were the ones who completed the task.
At six feet zero inches and 203 pounds, Downs is the top-ranked player in the transfer portal. He was a five-star recruit in the previous recruiting class and led the Crimson Tide with 107 tackles in his freshman season.
Following the announcement of the commitment, Ohio State’s NIL collective, THE Foundation, did not waste any time in flaunting its signing. At 8:35 p.m. ET, Pete Thamel announced the news.
Three minutes later, THE Foundation made an announcement about its “partnership” with Downs, complete with a wink.
Downs never officially announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would be playing in Columbus. He only shared the post from THE Foundation.
The current state of college football is as follows!
Caleb Downs is receiving compensation.
To be clear, THE Foundation is not the first group to share an announcement of this nature on social media. Any successful collective is adopting a strategy akin to NFL free agency. They are posting partnerships in large numbers.
The same was done by THE Foundation with Jeremiah Smith, Will Howard, and others. Nothing about it is novel.
But the signing of Downs in particular is a clear nod to the NIL era. Outside of Ohio, everyone believed that he would play for Kirby Smart and Travaris Robinson, the former defensive backs coach of the Crimson Tide, in Athens. It was inevitable for Georgia.
Then, winking, THE Foundation entered. Does this warrant further discussion? An emoji can convey a lot.
The amount of NIL funding Downs will receive at Ohio State is unknown. Nevertheless, 247 Sports was informed by a Power-5 level director of player personnel that the outstanding sophomore will receive “top quarterback money.”
Ryan Day assembled an incredible roster for the upcoming season with assistance from the university’s NIL arm. The icing on the cake is Downs.
