Twitter: @devantedowns | @calfootball
Instagram: cal_football
Downs was making a strong case for National and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors through the first half of his 2017 senior campaign before suffering an injury against Washington State in the seventh contest of the season that ended his collegiate career. Downs was on watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy both honoring the nation's top defensive player as well as The Butkus Award given annually to the nation's best linebacker. Downs was the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Week twice in the first three games of the campaign to give the Golden Bears their first two-time winner of the award since Mike Mohamed in 2010. Downs was also selected by the coaches as one of the team's game captains three times in the first six contests (Weber State, Oregon, Washington) and then voted on by his teammates between the sixth and seventh game of the campaign to be a team captain for the remainder of the season. Despite missing the final five-plus games due to injury, Downs was named Cal's Defensive Bear Backers MVP and earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors as a senior when he finished his senior campaign second on the team with 65 tackles while adding 5.5 tackles for loss (-29 yards), 3.0 sacks (-14 yards), a team-high-tying two interceptions that he returned for 39 yards, a team-high four quarterback hurries, a team-high-tying two fumble recoveries that he returned for four yards and a team-high-tying two forced fumbles. Downs played in 40 career games with 20 starts during his four seasons at Cal (2014-17) and finished with career totals of 212 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss (-64 yards), 8.0 sacks (-40 yards), five interceptions that he returned for 59 yards and one touchdown, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four quarterback hurries, and two kick returns for eight yards. Downs led Cal with a career-high 84 tackles as a 2016 junior.
Downs' Career Game Highs
Tackles: 14 (three times, last vs. USC, 2017)
Tackles For Loss: 3.0 (vs. Ole Miss, 2017)
Tackle For Loss Yards: 21 (vs. Ole Miss, 2017)
Sacks: 2.0 (vs. Ole Miss, 2017)
Sack Yards: 13 (vs. Ole Miss, 2017)
Forced Fumbles: 1 (three times, last vs. Weber State, 2017)
Fumble Recoveries: 1 (three times, last vs. Washington State, 2017)
Interceptions: 1 (five times, last vs. Ole Miss, 2017)
Interception Return Yards: 39 (at North Carolina, 2017)
Long Interception Return: 39 (at North Carolina, 2017)
Interception Return TDs: 1 (vs. Grambling State, 2015)
Pass Breakups: 1 (three times, last vs. UCLA, 2016)
Quarterback Hurries: 1 (four times, last vs. USC, 2017)
Kick Returns: 2 (vs. BYU, 2014)
Kick Return Yards: 8 (vs. BYU, 2014)
Long Kick Return: 6 (vs. BYU, 2014)
All-Purpose Yards: 39 (at North Carolina, 2017)
Total TDs: 1 (vs. Grambling State, 2015)
Points: 6 (vs. Grambling State, 2015)
After Cal
• Selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft with the No. 225 pick overall
• Was a limited participant at Cal’s 2018 Pro Day due to injury and had 23 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press that would have tied for sixth among linebackers at the NFL Combine
Cal Career (2014-17)
• Played in 40 games with 20 starts and finished with career totals of 212 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss (-64 yards), 8.0 sacks (-40 yards), five interceptions that he returned for 59 yards and one touchdown, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four quarterback hurries and two kick returns for eight yards
• Was involved in 10 turnovers including a career-high six during his 2017 senior campaign
• Posted career highs of 5.5 tackles for loss (career-high -29 yards) and 39 interception return yards as a senior, while his 3.0 sacks, 14 sack yards and two interceptions equaled single-season career bests
• Posted a career high and team-high of 84 tackles as a junior
• Equaled a career-best two interceptions as a sophomore and 3.0 sacks as a 2014 freshman
• Set or equaled several career highs as a senior vs. Ole Miss, setting new career marks in tackles for loss (3.0), tackle for loss yards (21), sacks (2.0) and sack yards (13), while equaling career bests for tackles (14), interceptions (1) and quarterback hurries (1)
• Also equaled a single-game career-high with 14 tackles as a senior against USC and vs. Stanford as a 2016 junior, while he has had a single forced fumble and fumble recovery three times each, and a single interception on five occasions
• Registered single-game and single-season career bests with a 39-yard interception return that was also a career-long 39 yards
• Had his lone career interception return for a touchdown when he brought back a pick eight yards for a score to also record a career-best six points in the season-opener of his 2015 sophomore campaign against Grambling State
• Had his two career kick returns and eight kick return yards, as well as a career-long return of six yards came as a freshman vs. BYU
• Led or co-led Cal in tackles eight times including on four occasions as a senior, three times as a junior and once as a sophomore
Senior (2017)
• Despite missing five-plus games earned Cal's Bear Backers Defensive MVP honors and honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors
• Finished his senior campaign second on the team with 65 tackles while adding a career-high 5.5 tackles for loss (career-high -29 yards), career-high-tying 3.0 sacks (career-high-tying -14 yards), a career-high-tying and team-high-tying two interceptions that he returned for a career-high 39 yards, a career-high and team-high four quarterback hurries, a career-high and team-high-tying two fumble recoveries that he returned for a career-high four yards and a career-high and team-high-tying two forced fumbles
• Was making a strong case for National and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors through the first half of his 2017 senior campaign before suffering an injury against Washington State in the seventh contest of the season that ended his collegiate career
• Was on watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy both honoring the nation's top defensive player as well as The Butkus Award given annually to the nation's best linebacker.
• Named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week twice in his first three games after victories over North Carolina and Ole Miss to give the Golden Bears their first two-time winner of the award since Mike Mohamed in 2010
• Finished the regular season ranked tied for 23th nationally with two fumble recoveries
• Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time for his performance against Ole Miss when he had a career-high-tying and game-high-tying 14 tackles along with career highs with 3.0 tackles for loss (-21 yards) and 2.0 sacks (-13 yards) with his second sack clinching Cal's win on Ole Miss' final offensive play, while adding a career-high-tying one interception and one quarterback hurry
• Tied a career-high with 14 tackles vs. USC while he also had 0.5 tackles for loss (-2 yards) and one quarterback hurry
• Had a huge 2017 season-opener at North Carolina when he recorded a game-high 13 tackles, an interception that he returned a career-long 39 yards on the final play of the first half to potentially prevent a Tar Heels' score, a forced fumble, 0.5 tackles for loss (-1 yard) and one quarterback hurry to earn Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and Cal's Defensive Player of the Game honor
• Registered eight tackles at Oregon
• Had a team-high-tying six tackles at Washington
• Contributed five tackles, 1.0 sack (-1 yard), 1.0 tackle for loss (-1 yard), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one quarterback hurry vs. Weber State
• Had five tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss (-4 yards) and one fumble recovery that he returned four yards before being injureed against Washington State
• Contributed one tackle and 0.5 tackles for loss (-1 yard) in the spring game
Junior (2016)
• Started all 12 games and led Cal with a career-high 84 tackles, while adding 3.5 tackles for loss (-16 yards), 2.0 sacks (-12 yards), one interception that he returned 12 yards and three pass breakups
• Ranked tied ninth in the Pac-12 with an average of 7.0 tackles per game
• Led or co-led the team in tackles three times
• Had a team and career-high-tying 14 tackles vs. Stanford that were the most by a Cal player in 2016
• Also led the team in tackles vs. Utah (13) while co-leading the squad at Oregon State (7)
• Had eight tackles and a career-high-tying one pass breakup vs. Texas
• Registered seven tackles, a season-high 2.0 tackles for loss (-9 yards) and a season-high-tying 1.0 sack (-6 yards) at Arizona State
• Had five tackles, 0.5 tackles (-4 yards), 0.5 sacks (-4 yards), his lone interception of the season that he returned for 12 yards and a career-high-tying one pass breakup in the season finale vs. UCLA
• Picked up other defensive stats vs. Hawai'i (6 tackles), at San Diego State (5 tackles; 0.5 TFL, -1 yard; career-high-tying 1 PBU) , vs. Oregon (5 tackles), at USC (5 tackles), at Washington State (5 tackles) and vs. Washington (4 tackles)
• Did not participate in the spring game
Sophomore (2015)
• Played in nine games including his first career start and contributed 29 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss (-1 yard), two interceptions to rank tied second on the team that he returned for eight yards and his lone collegiate touchdown, one forced fumble a team-high-tying one fumble recovery and one pass breakup
• Played a role in four turnovers to rank second on the team
• Registered a season-high nine tackles in his final game of the campaign at Oregon before missing the final four contests due to injury
• Had a big season-opener against Grambling State when he recorded a team-high six tackles and also 0.5 tackles for loss (-1 yard) while picking off a pass to the Tigers' eight-yard line and running it for his lone collegiate touchdown and one of Cal's three defensive touchdowns and two interception returns for scores on the season
• Forced two turnovers at Utah with an interception and a forced fumble, with the latter leading to Cal's final points on a field goal late in the third quarter
• Registered a career-high-tying one fumble recovery at Washington
• Had five tackles vs. USC, three at Utah and two each vs. San Diego State, vs. Washington State and at UCLA
• Had three tackles in the spring game
Freshman (2014)
• Led the team in sacks with a career-high-tying 3.0 (career-high-tying -14 yards) while adding 5.0 tackles for loss (-18 yards)
• One of five true freshman to play in all 12 games (all off the bench) while leading all rookies in tackles (34), tackles for loss, tackle for loss yards, sacks and sack yards
• Added two kick returns for eight yards all in the season finale vs. BYU to make the only time in his career he has registered any kick return statistics
• Recorded a season-high six tackles along with a season-high-tying 1.0 sack for a season-high eight yards lost (also a season-high-tying 1.0 TFL and eight yards lost) vs. Sacramento State
• Also had a season-high-tying 1.0 sack and tackle for loss among two tackles at USC and one tackle vs. BYU, as well as a season-high-tying 1.0 tackle for loss for three yards lost among three tackles vs. Stanford
• Had at least 0.5 tackles for loss in each of his last three and five of his last seven contests
• Had defensive stats in other games vs. UCLA (5 tackles), at Washington State (4 tackles), vs. Oregon (3 tackles; 0.5 TFL, 0 yards), vs. Colorado (3 tackles), vs. Washington (2 tackles; 0.5 TFL, -1 yard), at Arizona (2 tackles), at Northwestern (2 tackles) and at Oregon State (1 tackle)
• One of three players along with junior college transfers Jonathan Johnson and Trevor Kelly and the only true freshman who was a mid-year enrollee to participate with the team during its spring practices but did not take part in any contact drills as he continued to recover from an injury that forced him to miss his senior campaign in high school
Mountlake Terrace HS (2010-13)
• Named to the Rivals Preseason All-American Watch List and the MaxPreps Washington Preseason All-State Football Team, while also being rated as Scout’s top fullback in the West prior to his 2013 season but missed the campaign due to a knee injury
• Selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl following his senior season but unable to play due to injury
• Rushed for 1,271 yards and 24 touchdowns on offense during his 2012 junior campaign, while adding 63 tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks on defense to earn an AP Washington Class 3A All-State honorable mention selection as a running back and spots on both the 3A Wesco South All-League offensive and defensive teams
• Rushed for 500 yards on offense to earn second-team 3A Wesco South All-League honors as a 2011 sophomore, while adding 90 tackles, two pass breakups and two fumble recoveries on defense
• Led his squad to the postseason for just the second and third times in school history as a sophomore and junior during the 2011 and 2012 campaigns
• Paced the Wesco South League with 19 rushing touchdowns as a 2010 freshman
Recruiting Notes (Class of 2014)
• A four-star recruit according to 247Sports and ESPN, while he was given three stars by 247Sports Composite, Rivals and Scout
• Listed among the nation’s top overall players by 247Sports (No. 181), ESPN (No. 206) and 247Sports Composite (No. 323)
• Listed among the nation’s top fullbacks by Scout (No. 6), outside linebackers by 247Sports (No. 12) and 247Sports Composite (No. 27), and athletes by Rivals (No. 23) and ESPN (No. 25)
• Ranked No. 26 on ESPN’s list of the top players in his region
• ESPN (No. 2), 247Sports (No. 3), 247Sports Composite (No. 3) and Rivals (No. 4) had him among the top players overall in Washington
• Received a 94 grade from 247Sports, while 247Sports Composite had him at 0.8891, ESPN at 82 and Rivals at 5.7
• Participated in the 2013 Oakland NFTC
• Called the “Best Big Back in the West” by Rivals in March of 2013
• Named to the All-Oregon NFTC Team for Underclassmen in June of 2012
Other
• Full name is Devante Johnston Downs
• Born October 18, 1995
• Son of John Downs and Rosa Cham-Sanchez
• Graduated from Cal in December of 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in legal studies
Last Updated
May 5, 2018
