Ohio State Buckeyes College Football Pregame Quote, 01/05/2025

Q. Caleb, you saw this Texas offense last year when you were at Alabama. What kind of challenges do they present with the shifts and motions and all the movements you get?

S CALEB DOWNS: The OC really does a great job of providing a lot of eye candy for the defense. And all the shifts and motions, you have to make sure you’re on the same page in order to play a really sound and complete game. They’ve done a great job this year, and it’s let them get to this point.

Q. It seems like Jordan Hancock doesn’t get enough recognition that he deserves. How many ways does he impact this defense?

S CALEB DOWNS: He’s a tremendous player. He has a lot of versatility. You can’t really put a price on that, just because you can ask him to do so many things. And even in the game, there will be plays where I’ll feel like we need to change the coverage, and I’ll tell him: Okay, you play this different position, which you haven’t done, but he makes it work.

He’s a tremendous player and he’s going to be a really good talent in the NFL.

Q. I asked you about this after the game, but you’re playing closer to the box now. Is that something that you suggested, or the coaches came to you? And how much do you like it? How much more impactful do you think you can be there?

S CALEB DOWNS: It wasn’t something that I suggested to the coaches. They did that themselves, so I feel like I can play anywhere on the field. I’m just glad to be able to make plays.

Q. Do you feel like you’re more impactful being closer to the line of scrimmage, or not?

S CALEB DOWNS: I feel like it’s either way. If you have me in the post, I can make plays. Have me at man, I can make plays. Have me in the box, I can make plays. To me, it doesn’t really matter.

Q. What’s it like seeing the offense operate like it has in the first two playoff games early? And then what does that do for a defense throughout the game?

S CALEB DOWNS: I’ve been ecstatic watching them play. It’s been very eventful on the sidelines, just seeing them play at a really high level and seeing everybody succeed. So, I mean, it’s a great feeling.

And then as a defense, it allows you to really know, like, okay, we’ve got both sides of the ball working right now. We’re playing at a high level.

Q. Another question about playing in the box. Obviously, you said you make plays wherever you’re at on the field, but what about playing kind of at that maybe 12-yard depth in the middle, maybe allows you to see and read and react to things and flow sideline to sideline when you’re in that position?

S CALEB DOWNS: I feel like I’m comfortable at that position, and it allows me to be able to read the line and read the quarterback and be able to get in the run game and play the pass. So I feel like that’s a good spot for me.

But I feel like I’m versatile enough to move around.

Q. Since you guys are both [Jim] Thorpe [Award] finalists, do you have a relationship or know Jahdae [Barron] at all? And what are your thoughts on his game?

S CALEB DOWNS: He’s a tremendous player. He’s played really well this year. Watching his film, he’s made a lot of plays, and they do a really good job on their defense. But I don’t know him personally.

Q. Caleb, I was just going to ask you about the Michigan thing. Texas, obviously, went up there to Ann Arbor and beat them. And you had your issues with them. Do you put any stock in that? Or was that Texas-Michigan game just so long ago, it doesn’t matter at all?

S CALEB DOWNS: At this point in the season, it’s win or go home. So really, whatever happens in the past doesn’t have any stock or anything. It doesn’t mean anything. We have to play on Friday, and that’s really all that matters.

Q. You were talking about the Ohio State offense, the success that they’ve had. Obviously, Jeremiah [Smith] has been a big part of that.

What’s it been like this year going against him in practice? And after doing that, does it surprise you at all to see him having the success he’s had as a freshman?

S CALEB DOWNS: No, it doesn’t bring any surprises. It was pretty easy to see the talent that he has and the blessings that God has put on his plate.

But it’s always a challenge going against Jeremiah and other receivers and Emeka [Egbuka] and Carnell [Tate] in practice, and even guys like Brandon [Inniss] and Bryson Rodgers, they do a good job creating obstacles.

Q. Quinn [Ewers] had a lot of success against you guys when you played them at Alabama last year. What do you remember from going up against him last year, and what can you learn from that game?

S CALEB DOWNS: Really smart quarterback. Knows how to operate their offense. Puts the ball in the right places. And then Coach [Steve] Sarkisian does a great job in putting him in positions to win.

Q. JT [Tuimoloau] and Jack [Sawyer] play on opposite sides. Are they as opposite off the field as they are on, in terms of personality and the people they are?

S CALEB DOWNS: They’re opposite, but they’re also one of the closest people I know. They spend a lot of time together. They’ve come from different sides of the country, so they’re different people, for sure. But they’re both really great people and really great men, so I respect both of them.

Q. Throughout the season, like on Wednesday nights, you and Lathan Ransom would be some of the last people off the field. are the things that you’re working on after the practice always the same? Is it a routine? What are the things that you’re hoping to get out of those extra moments after practice?

S CALEB DOWNS: It’s a routine, pretty much. The keys that we need to go into the game with. And then it changes week-to-week, based on what our jobs are going to put us into doing.

So, every week we go through the same thing, and then we add certain things that we do, for what the team that we play is going to ask us to accomplish.

Q. When Texas uses play-action, what do they do well in those spots, in those moments with Quinn [Ewers].

S CALEB DOWNS: They do a really good job with eye candy, and it creates a lot of challenges for defense in order to see if it’s run or passed, because that’s when they’re going to take their shots as well.

So really just having great eye discipline, seeing the line and seeing what it’s telling us. So that’s what it does.

Q. You guys had a pretty good game plan for Tyler Warren when you played them. Texas has a good tight end in Gunnar Helm. What do you guys have to do to limit him?

S CALEB DOWNS: He’s a really good player. He makes a lot of plays, and he has a lot of receiving yards this year. So, really just do the same thing we’ve done all year. Just be disciplined in our responsibilities. And if you’re on them, you’ve got to make the play when it comes.

Q. When you look at their receivers as a whole, they spread the ball around a lot. What stands out about them?

S CALEB DOWNS: A lot of really good athletes. I played with Isaiah Bond last year. He was a really good receiver, a lot of speed. All their receivers have made a lot of good plays.

So, I mean, everybody has to be on their Ps and Qs if we’re going to stop them and do a really good job.

Q. You moved up here basically a year ago, and so it’s a little bit of a leap of faith. You know how many athletes are on this team, good athletes. But when did you really feel this defense come into its own?

And then past that, watching you in the Rose Bowl, your recognition of what was coming seemed to be on point. Did it feel like that? I mean, you personally.

S CALEB DOWNS: I think the defense has played really well throughout the season. I think we’ve had games where we played better and games where we haven’t put it all together.

I think that’s how all defenses are, so I can’t say there’s a certain moment where I think we put it together.

Q. You seemed really on point against Oregon about recognizing what was coming. You were really active out there, directing and things like that.

Did it feel like that?

S CALEB DOWNS: I feel like as Luke [Montgomery] said earlier, the preparation that we put in goes into that and just feeling comfortable in what we’re doing, comfortable in what we’re seeing with the other teams, I feel like that allows us to play fast and allow me and Lathan [Ransom] to communicate to everybody else.