Josh Downs

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Josh Downs
North Carolina Tar Heels – No. 11
PositionWide receiver
ClassJunior
Personal information
Born: (2001-08-12) August 12, 2001 (age 20)
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolNorth Gwinnett
(Suwanee, Georgia)
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-ACC (2021)

Josh Downs is an American football wide receiver for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

High school career[]

Downs attended North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia. During his high school career he had 187 receptions for 3,019 yards and 32 touchdowns. He was selected to play in the 2020 All-American Bowl. He committed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to play college football.[1]

College career[]

Freshman[]

As a true freshman at North Carolina in 2020, playing primarily on special teams, Downs appeared in 10 games and had seven receptions for 119 yards and three touchdowns. His first touchdown reception of his career came against N.C. State in Carolina's 48-21 victory. His breakout performance came in the Orange Bowl, where he filled in for Dyami Brown, who, along with Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, and Chazz Surratt, had opted out of the Tar Heels' bowl appearance. Downs caught four passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75 yard touchdown that temporarily gave the Tar Heels the lead early in the fourth quarter, and was the team's leading receiver in the 41-27 loss to Texas A&M.

Sophomore[]

Heading into the 2021 season, Downs was projected to be the team's number one receiver.[2][3] In the season-opening loss against Virginia Tech, Downs caught eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown as the Tar Heels failed to mount a successful second half comeback.[4] Two weeks later against Virginia, he caught eight passes for 203 receiving yards and two touchdowns, setting a career high in the process. Downs' 203 receiving yards against the Cavaliers were the eighth most in a single game in Tar Heel history.[5] Against Wake Forest, he only caught four passes for 35 yards, both season lows. However, his 35 receiving yards against the Demon Deacons made him just the seventh player in school history to gain 1,000 or more receiving yards in a single season.[6] With eight receptions against Wofford, Downs moved into second place, behind Ryan Switzer, for most receptions in a single season as a Tar Heel with 90 on the year.

In the regular season finale, a 34–30 loss against NC State, Downs broke both Switzer's single season receptions record and Hakeem Nicks' single season receiving yards record. He recorded three more catches in the Duke's Mayo Bowl loss to South Carolina, finishing his record-setting 2021 season with 101 catches for 1,335 yards and eight touchdowns.

Statistics[]

See also: North Carolina Tar Heels football statistical leaders
Year G Rec Yards Avg TDs
2020 10 7 119 17.0 3
2021 13 101 1,335 13.2 8
2022 – – – – –
Career[7] 23 108 1,454 13.5 11

Personal life[]

Downs' father, Gary, played college football for N.C. State and is currently an assistant coach for the ETSU football team. His uncle, Dré Bly, is the cornerbacks coach for the Tar Heels.

References[]

  1. ^ "Four-star 2020 WR Josh Downs commits to North Carolina". February 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Fowler, Chapel. "Josh Downs, UNC football's 'best receiver' this spring, is ready for a breakout year". The Fayetteville Observer.
  3. ^ Smith, Adam. "Speedy potential of UNC receiver Josh Downs isn't expected to be slowed by foot surgery". Burlington Times News.
  4. ^ Stellar season debut casts speedy UNC receiver Josh Downs as emerging star in the making
  5. ^ Gregory Hall (September 19, 2021). "Josh Downs' Career Night Against Virginia". 247Sports.
  6. ^ Mark Kimmel (November 9, 2021). "Inside The Numbers: Wake Forest Game". GoHeels.com.
  7. ^ "Josh Downs College Stats". sports-reference.com. College Reference. Retrieved 31 October 2021.

External links[]

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