Joel Klatt reacts to Ohio State taking advantage of Alabama's transfer departures
Joel Klatt knows this past week has been a big boost for Ohio State at the expense of Alabama.
As Kalen DeBoer begins to settle in as the head coach in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide experienced a wave of key contributors and promising prospects hit the transfer portal. Arguably the biggest piece from that group was star safety Caleb Downs, an elite freshman contributor for Alabama in 2023.
After entering the portal, Downs was originally pegged for a likely move to Kirby Smart’s Georgia program and a return to Downs’ home state. Instead, he wound up committing to Ohio State and coach Ryan Day.
In his latest episode of the Joel Klatt Show, the popular FOX broadcaster used it as a reminder that teams are always lurking and ready to take advantage when a team is reeling:
“When someone is reeling, someone else is going to be trying to take advantage. That’s just the nature of this business, that’s the nature of college football,” said Klatt. “At least for this week, the program that took the most advantage of the situation was Ohio State. What was Alabama’s loss, in particular with Caleb Downs, was Ohio State’s gain.”
As for the perspective of Downs’ move (and that of 5-star QB signee Julian Sayin), Klatt balanced the reactions from the fanbases in Tuscaloosa and Columbus. While the immediate reaction has been understandably extreme on either side, Klatt believes the truth about the moves resides in the middle of the road:
“Remember: If you’re talking about from an Alabama perspective vs. an Ohio State perspective. Ohio State is ‘Well now we’re going to win a national championship!’ And from an Alabama perspective, it can be the sky is falling… The way Alabama is built, they can still move forward from this, but it is a massive get for Ohio State,” Klatt explained.
Here is Klatt’s latest episode with the Alabama and Ohio State angle beginning around the 17-minute mark:
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