It took about three practices for Caleb Downs to make a “crazy play” in the eyes of veteran defensive back Terrion Arnold.

As Arnold described to reporters on Thursday, the Alabama defense was in Cover 2 coverage during a fall practice. A quarterback threw a “50-50″ pass and Downs, a 6-foot, 203-pound freshman and former five-star from Mill Creek (Ga.) High, disrupted it. It was the most impressive play Arnold has seen from Downs so far, and that distinction is important.

Since arriving on campus last December, Downs hasn’t relented. He excited fans when he worked out with the Crimson Tide at its Sugar Bowl practices. He exceeded expectations when he earned first-team reps during the spring game amid a veteran secondary. And already a trendy pick for the conference’s breakout freshmen, Downs is just one of a few Crimson Tide freshmen and newcomers who seem primed to make an early impact in the 2023 season.

A common recruiting knock against the Tide from opposing teams is that five-star players are all over the depth chart, so playing time is limited for underclassmen. Recent history would dispute that, however, as defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis, offensive lineman Tyler Booker and wide reciever Kobe Prentice had standout performances their first years in Tuscaloosa.

For Downs, left tackle Kadyn Proctor and others, their next step is having a strong showing in the first of two scrimmages this Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“As a collective group, it’s Alabama. We have talented freshmen, and they are working very hard,” defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said on Aug. 6. “Trying to find where to place those guys is still a working process, but we’ve got some really talented young freshmen, very smart, football-smart young freshmen that can have the ability to be playmakers.”

The program doesn’t allow freshmen to speak to the media, but upperclassmen have provided glowing reviews on a couple of them. Chris Braswell complimented pass-rushers Keon Keley and Yhonzae Pierre’s athleticism. Tyler Booker said Proctor possesses all the traits a UA blocker needs. Malachi Moore called Downs’ focus “eye-opening.”

The group came in as part of the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports. In addition to the high school prospects, JuCo wideout Malik Benson could also elevate that unit with his big-play ability. But as Nick Saban has repeated through the preseason, talent isn’t enough when fighting for a role.

“I think it’s maturity. I think they’re mature, they’re confident. It’s interesting how people gain their self-esteem. Some people gain their self-esteem from what everybody else thinks, and I think that’s pretty shallow and can be, sometimes, misleading,” Saban said, “but these guys are mature in terms of believing in themselves, having confidence, believing that they can learn, believing that they can go out there and play the techniques that they need to play to be able to have success, and they’ve had success in the past based on their performance and what they’ve done, not based on what somebody else said about them. And I think that maturity is the biggest difference in guys that can develop more quickly and in guys that may take a little longer to develop.”

Proctor is contending with Elijah Pritchett for the Tide’s left tackle position. Downs is among the safeties fighting for a role in the secondary. Running back Justice Haynes also is battling for snaps with four other ball carriers in the Tide’s most “spoiled” position group.

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Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].