Ohio State Buckeyes junior safety Caleb Downs has been named the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award winner, recognizing him as the nation’s top defensive back . The announcement came Friday night during ESPN’s Home Depot College Football Awards show, where Downs emerged victorious over fellow finalists LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore. With this honor, Downs became only the third player in Ohio State history to claim the award, joining Antoine Winfield (1998) and Malcolm Jenkins (2008).

Downs’ 2025 season has been remarkable both statistically and in terms of his overall impact on the field. Over 13 games, he has recorded 60 total tackles, 40 of them solo, ranking third on Ohio State's roster. He also amassed five tackles for loss, one quarterback sack, two inter

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