The SEC on Thursday announced that two players from Alabama football had made the freshman all-SEC team. Both offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor and safety Caleb Downs made the list.
Downs had won the SEC’s freshman of the year honors before. This season, he assumed a starting position in the defensive backfield and made an immediate impact.
With 99 tackles, the former five-star prospect leads Alabama at the moment. In addition, he has three pass breakups, two interceptions, and one touchdown return on a punt return against Chattanooga.
In addition to being named an all-freshman, he was named to the second team of the SEC.
At the beginning of the season, Proctor took over as Alabama’s left tackle, sharing snaps with Elijah Pritchett in that role. He had trouble at first this year, but as the 2023 season has progressed, he has gotten better.
Head coach of Alabama Nick Saban stated in November, “We’ve talked about him developing confidence in what he’s supposed to do, how he’s supposed to do it, and why he’s supposed to do it that way.” “I believe that the offensive line’s enhanced communication has played a role in the growth of confidence.” That’s the one word, in my opinion, that truly helps to foster confidence and the expectation that one can perform at a high level when one is successful, and he has been more successful in recent games.
Proctor and Downs still have their freshman seasons left to play. After defeating Georgia on Saturday to win the SEC title, the Crimson Tide still have at least one more game left.
Alabama’s next game is a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl on January 1st, against Michigan.
