5 stories from Mill Creek, which raised first-round NFL draft pick Caleb Downs

Downs has already made Georgia high school history for Mill Creek. He and Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Daniel Pierce became the first duo of athletes from one school to be selected in the first round of major sport drafts in back-to-back years.

Downs was always supremely athletic, but it wasn’t always obvious he would make history. Lovelady revealed five defining moments from Downs’ development into the state of Georgia’s newest NFL first-rounder.

Fooling the QB — and the coach

Lovelady thought he was about to do something he rarely had to do — correct Downs’ knowledge of his playbook. Standing behind Downs in practice one day, Lovelady watched the rising sophomore line up incorrectly against a receiver.

“I’m like, ‘All right, I’m going to let this go. He’s fixing to bust this. I’m going to let him fall, and then I’ll get on to him,’” Lovelady said.

But just before the play started, Downs shifted his leverage to the correct alignment. The quarterback didn’t notice.

“He let the quarterback see him inside and baited him,” Lovelady said. “And sure enough, it went from, I was about to get on to him because he made a bust to, he tricked the quarterback.”

Five seconds later, Downs pulled down an interception.

Algebra I vs. AP Calculus

Mill Creek was playing Mountain View during Downs’ junior year, and the Bears’ offense was confusing the Hawks’ defense with formations and schemes they hadn’t seen before.

By halftime, Downs wasn’t diagnosing the problem. He already had a solution.

“We’re walking off at halftime, and he’s telling me, ‘Coach, we need to do this, this and this,’” Lovelady said.

Lovelady agreed that Downs’ proposals would stop Mountain View if executed correctly. But he had to remind his 5-star athlete that he was thinking three steps ahead of his team.

“I said, ‘Caleb, I need you to pause. Think about the other guys around you,’” Lovelady said. “I said, ‘You’re on AP Calculus mode. They’re still in Algebra I.’”

Caleb Downs, cheat code

Downs has been studying the game like a professional long before he was projected to be one. As a freshman, he logged more time watching game film than the rest of his team every week.

“It was really neat to see him at a young age, like, ‘This kid, is he really watching it? Is he really this good?’” Lovelady said. “I guess I kept on waiting for him to be a normal ninth grader or sophomore in our league.”

Instead of rookie mistakes, Lovelady watched Downs’ studies pay off. Several coaches asked Lovelady if he knew their play-calling signals after games.

“I’m like, ‘What? No. Why?’” Lovelady said. “I said, ‘Caleb, I swear, every third down, he’s over there telling me what you got.’”

Downs was diagnosing plays before they started based off the offense’s formation. Lovelady said it happened three or four times during Downs’ junior and senior years.

“He wasn’t just playing, and he wasn’t just relying on his talent,” Lovelady said. “He wanted to know all those little things that we wouldn’t expect of him.”

One transfer and three DC’s

One of the most pivotal moments on Downs’ road to the NFL came after his freshman year at Alabama. The Freshman All-American had led the Crimson Tide in tackles and was poised to be the next Nick Saban pupil on the fast track to the NFL.

Then Saban retired, and Downs had to evaluate other options for the rest of his college career.

“He’s loyal to Mill Creek, and he was loyal to Alabama, but when you have something like that, the whole Alabama staff just turned over,” Lovelady said. “I mean, I’m talking about everybody.”

Downs transferred to Ohio State. For the second consecutive year, Downs was learning a new defense with high expectations for immediate performance.

“His DB coach went to Georgia, and that would have been easy because (UGA coach Kirby Smart) does things similar to Saban’s defense. It would have been plug-and-play,” Lovelady said. “But talking to him and inferring from our conversations, it was the challenge of learning a different defense. He knew Ohio State was unique in the sense of something he could apply to his toolbox for later.”

Downs was a key part of Ohio State’s national championship in 2024, and he earned his first All-American selection. Then former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles left for Penn State, and for the third straight year, Downs was learning a new defense.

The junior flourished again. Downs was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the winner of the Jim Thorpe Award, given to college football’s best defensive back.

“I think it’s always been the challenge for him,” Lovelady said. “What can he learn? What can he put in the toolbox for him to be able to pull out, whether it’s that game, the season, or in the future?”

Managing the game off the field

There’s only so much on-field advice Lovelady can give Downs these days. But Downs has continued to grow as a professional outside the lines.

“I think he’s trying, for him, just to slow down and find something that’s not about football,” Lovelady said. “Whether it’s working with youth, he does several youth camps, it’s great for him to bring that side of him out.

“I know he’s (taken) up golf in the last two years. He’s really enjoyed golf, and he says it’s a great time for me to learn something new and to be able to connect with people.”

Lovelady also noted Downs’ ability to manage his body, knowing when to play through injury and when to slow down. The Hoschton native has also grown as a speaker through the NFL draft evaluation process.

“I always knew his heart was there. I always knew that he had empathy, whether it’s fundraising for the homeless or food drives, whatever it may be,” Lovelady said. “He was always team-first, look out for the other guys, your teammates.

“But the way that he’s put himself in the situation now with his speaking, his ability to have a voice, and how comfortable he is.”

The puzzle pieces are in place, and Lovelady can’t wait to see the full picture as Downs’ career unfolds.

“What’s going to be a really cool thing is seeing how much he’s the face,” Lovelady said. “With the Steelers, you think of Hines Ward and some guys that are big dogs. Every team has somebody that’s kind of a poster child of that team. ... I think what another team’s going to get is you’re not going to get any drama.

“You’re going to get a team leader, but also somebody in the community that’s going to make people want to come watch that team because he’s so likable.”