Former Alabama safety Caleb Downs was a hot commodity on the college football transfer portal market — perhaps the most coveted we’ve seen since players have been allowed to immediately transfer after their coaches left the program.

In Downs’ case, his incredible freshman season was followed up by legendary head coach Nick Saban announcing his retirement. The soon-to-be sophomore immediately put his name into the transfer portal and then it was off to the races.

He quickly settled on Ohio State, taking his 70 tackles and two interceptions to the Buckeyes.

That’s not to say other schools didn’t try hard to get Downs, though, as he recently revealed that his phone blew up when he announced his intentions to transfer from Alabama.

“I got 102 calls in one day — well not in one day, probably seven or eight hours,” Downs said on Tuesday according to On3. “Just being able to minimize what my mind was going through, that was a big thing for me to make a sound decision.

“I just love the program here, I love coach [Tim] Walton, and love what the people had to say around here. I believe in coach [Ryan] Day, and I believe in this team.”

Ohio State secondary coach Tim Walton and head coach Ryan Day deserve credit for landing Downs. Not only are they getting a player who won SEC Freshman of the Year last season, but who spent the past year learning from one of the best college football head coaches ever in Saban.

“He was committed every single day to being his best self,” Downs said of his former head coach. “Not many people can say that and be truthful with that. He was the same person every single day. Taught me a lot about commitment, being disciplined and consistency. Everything that goes with that and being great. That’s what he embodies.”