Caleb Downs was named the nation’s top freshman Wednesday as he became the second Alabama player to earn the Shaun Alexander Award. The Crimson Tide safety beat out Miami’s Rueben Bain, N.C. State’s Kevin Conception, Arizona’s Noah Fifita and Purdue’s Dillon Thieneman. Downs is the second Alabama player to earn the honor, following Will Anderson Jr., who won in 2020.

Through 13 games Downs leads Alabama with 99 tackles, 34 more than linebacker Jihaad Campbell, who ranks second on the team. The 6-foot, 203-pound safety also has 3.5 tackles for a loss and a forced fumble to go with a pair of interceptions and three pass breakups. In addition to his defensive contributions, Downs returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown against Chattanooga.

Downs earned SEC Newcomer of the Year from the Associated Press and was named SEC Freshman of the Year by the conference. He was selected first-team All-SEC by the conference's coaches and second-team All-SEC by the AP.

"I like Caleb Downs, I think he’s got a lot of good characteristics as a person," Alabam head coach Nick Saban said. "He’s got great competitive attitude about how he goes about things, how he prepares. He’s very serious, he pays attention to detail, really has a lot of pride in performance."