Alabama football safety Caleb Downs grabbed the first interception of his career during the Crimson Tide’s 40-17 win at Mississippi State Saturday. The true freshman also finished second on the team with 13 tackles throughout the game, including five solo.

The effort was good enough for him to share the SEC’s freshman of the week award with Georgia’s Peyton Woodring, who kicked the winning field goal in the Bulldogs’ win over Auburn.

He’s played really, really well for us,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said of Downs on Monday. “He’s bright, smart, very instinctive as a football player. Really works hard to prepare. Very conscientious in terms of making sure that he knows exactly what he’s supposed to do, where he’s supposed to be and how he fits on the plays. I think being a good player and being a very conscientious person, the combination of those two has really enhanced his development and improvement.”

Downs joined the Crimson Tide as a five-star prospect from Mill Creek High School in Georgia. He earned Saban’s praise throughout fall camp and has been the starter all season.

He’s shown his inexperience at times throughout the season, whether from misjudging passes or missing tackles. But his play against Mississippi State looked solid.

The freshman of the week nod was Downs’ second of the season, with the first coming after the season-opener against Middle Tennessee State. On the season, he has 40 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.

Saban explained Monday what has gone into Downs’ development.

“I think Caleb was a really good player right to start with,” Saban said. “I think that one of the things that freshmen especially, they kind of get the defense, they kind of learn what they’re supposed to do. And then you start getting into gameplans where you’ve got to tweak those things a little bit. That’s where the experience really comes into play. Then you can put yourself in the right position.”

Downs and his Alabama teammates will be back in action Saturday at 2:30 at Texas A&M. The game will be aired on CBS.

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