COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — When Caleb Downs arrived at Ohio State earlier this year, he was billed as a high-profile transfer out of Alabama that would boost the Buckeyes’ defense as a safety. The Hoschton, Georgia-native surprised many when he committed to OSU instead of going to Georgia.

It turns out the rising sophomore might be full of surprises.

In a rare offseason press conference on Tuesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, head coach Ryan Day said he’s explored having Downs as an option at running back, a position that’s already stacked with talent.

“We started having conversations with Caleb Downs, that was part of the recruiting process of possibly doing a little running back as well,” Day said. “It’s something that he wanted to do.”

The possibility of Downs being in Ohio State’s backfield has been more than just an idea. Day said he’s been in some of the running back meetings as well as participated in some drills.

“He’s been around a little bit just to get a feel for it. We did very little in the spring. We pitched him an option or something like that in the spring just to kind of get him going,” Day said. “We’ll see where that goes. We don’t have a specific plan right now but we do want to introduce him to that.”

The leading options at running back for Ohio State right now are TreVeyon Henderson, who opted to return to the Buckeyes instead of leaving for the NFL draft, and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins. Freshmen James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon are also young backs that Day can rely on for depth.

“We feel like if we have four strong running backs going into it then that’s going to be enough to carry the season,” Day said. “I do think that the quarterbacks will run the ball more this season. So that should take some carries away from them.”

But Day is very open to the idea of Downs playing both sides of the line of scrimmage, especially as Ohio State expects to play a long season with the expanded College Football Playoff. On defense, Downs had 107 tackles to lead the Crimson Tide last season, becoming the first true freshman in program history to lead Alabama in tackles.

“It’s healthy, you’re seeing it from the other side of the ball. This time of year, you can get away with that a little bit. A little bit in the preseason,” Day said. “Where it goes, we’ll see. You just never know and we’re trying to put some contingency plans in place because it could be a long season.”

The Buckeyes begin fall camp on August 1 with Ohio State’s 2024 campaign starting on August 31 against Akron at 3:30 p.m.