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Downs changes uniform number to pay tribute to former Bama teammate
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- Downs changes uniform number to pay tribute to former Bama teammate
Many people may have forgotten that before Dallas Cowboys rookie safety Caleb Downs transferred to Ohio State, he played for Nick Saban at Alabama during his sophomore season.
Why is this important, you may ask? Well, because despite him transferring after Saban retired, he remained close to some of his Bama teammates, including Malachi Moore .
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Moore wore the No. 13 when he played in the defensive backfield with Downs for the Tide, and now Downs is paying tribute to his friend and a team leader.
"I mean, it was [ Odell Beckham Jr.], but like defensive-wise, it was Malachi Moore," Downs said. "Shout out to Malachi. When he was at Bama his freshman year, watching that, when I was like a freshman in high school, I was like, oh, that's tough."
Another reason he took the number is his brother Josh, who plays for the Indianapolis Colts , who told him not to wear the No. 18, the original number he picked out.
There was someone special on that Colts team who used to wear the No. 18.
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"Our equipment manager here was like, 'Bro, tell your brother, do not wear number 18.' He was like, 'I don't care what he does,'" Josh Downs said. "Cause he asked me what numbers were your options. He was like, 'Wear 29, wear any other.' He's like, 'Do not wear 18.' When I see 18, I think of like Peyton Manning . He was like, 'So like, I can't even like, I can't see a DB in that number.' He was like, 'Don't wear 18."
It seems as if Caleb Downs came to a good compromise. He gets to honor a former teammate and not wear the number of one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Downs changes uniform number to pay tribute to former Bama teammate
