{"id":873782,"date":"2026-04-24T20:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T20:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/873782\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T20:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T20:12:17","slug":"caleb-downs-credits-ohio-state-for-preparing-him-for-dallas-cowboys-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/873782\/","title":{"rendered":"Caleb Downs Credits Ohio State for Preparing Him for Dallas Cowboys Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5e\">The transition from Ohio State to the Dallas Cowboys could feel like a leap for most players.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5h\">For Caleb Downs, it sounded like business as usual.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5k\">\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/NtngZF6mqJ0?si=E0kiPEAhJiXUly28\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Playing at a higher level,<\/a> playing at a new, big brand, that\u2019s not any different for me,\u201d Downs said after being selected No. 11 overall. \u201cI\u2019m super excited to be a part of the team and get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5n\">Caleb pointed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/ohiostate\/news\/ohio-state-s-caleb-downs-explains-why-he-isn-t-an-average-safety-before-nfl-draft-01kpx6qtj8a8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">his time in Columbus<\/a> and even before that as the foundation. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been competing with NFL talent all my life,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I can transition at the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At Ohio State, that meant daily reps against one of college football\u2019s most reliable pipelines of NFL wide receivers.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5t\">\u201cI think it\u2019s just being able to have awareness for where everybody\u2019s at on the field,\u201d Downs said. \u201cGoing against those guys <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/ohiostate\/news\/carnell-tate-credits-ohio-state-path-while-calling-jaxon-smith-njigba-nfl-s-best-receiver-01kpxrkpweac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">makes you better <\/a>and makes the game easier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5w\">Preparation, sharpened by competition, is how he framed it. \u201cCoach Day and everybody does a great job creating a competitive nature,\u201d Downs said. \u201cIron sharpens iron at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5z\">Ask Downs to describe his game, and the answer comes quickly.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"62\">\u201cVery instinctual,\u201d he said. \u201cPlay with a quick trigger, play with great eyes, the ability to make plays in all facets of the field&#8230;I want to be an impact player. I want to be a playmaker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"65\">That mindset fits the expectations in Dallas, a franchise where winning is assumed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"68\">\u201cI feel like both the teams that I played on in college expect to win every year as well,\u201d Downs said. \u201cThat\u2019s not going to be any different for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6b\">Even as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/ohiostate\/news\/best-and-worst-case-nfl-draft-scenarios-for-ohio-state-s-defensive-prospects-01kpf2pyge8a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the moment unfolded<\/a>, shaking hands with the commissioner and hearing his name called, Downs kept the same perspective.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">\u201cFelt blessed, honestly,\u201d he said. \u201cGod\u2019s allowed me to be put in this situation. I\u2019m just here to glorify Him and thank Him&#8230;My faith is the most important part of my life. I wouldn\u2019t do anything without it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">He did not hesitate when asked what matters most beyond football. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>Even with the next chapter underway, he made it clear he is not stepping into the league alone.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6n\">\u201cOhio State\u2019s brotherhood is kind of incomparable,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s people that I can call on from guys that played 20 years ago to guys that I\u2019m playing with today&#8230;Playing football&#8230;That\u2019s what I\u2019m focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6q\">And now, he will be doing it on Sundays, exactly the way he always has.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The transition from Ohio State to the Dallas Cowboys could feel like a leap for most players. For&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,2461,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-873782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-cowboys","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallascowboys","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116461512389692229","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}