CHAPEL HILL – When Josh Downs hauled in a pass from Sam Howell and darted into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown in the Orange Bowl last January, he sent a message to the Texas A&M fans in that part of the stadium and anyone else paying attention.
Downs had arrived. Fast, cat quick, super glue on his hands, and the kind of moxie befitting a brash wide receiver, Downs crossed the goal line with an Aggies’ defender multiple steps behind him, he looked up toward the maroon-clad fans disgruntled by his impressive play and flashed them the Gig ‘em sign before reversing it: Thumb up, then thumb down.
The true freshmen from Suwanee, GA, somehow new the popular A&M gesture, and he also knew how to get under an opponents’ skin. That, and run really fast, get open, catch the ball and find grass in the end zone.
“I’ve got to have that swagger and that confidence out there to make plays,” Downs recently said, “because I know they're counting on me to. That’s pretty much where it comes from.”
Swagger is best when associated with talent and production. Going into the Orange Bowl, Downs had just three receptions on the season. No shame in that, after all he was playing behind 1,000-yard receivers Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown, plus he had to learn the ropes of playing major college football.
He caught on, though, and then some.
Downs had another touchdown reception in the bowl game and finished the night with four receptions for 91 yards and those two scores. For the season, he had seven catches for 119 yards. That was obviously his coming out party.
Now that Newsome and Brown are gone, Downs has been asked to take a giant step forward as one of the go-to guys in the receiver room, and if this spring is any indication, he is doing just that.
“Josh Downs looks great,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said during spring practice. “He doesn't look good. He's our best receiver at this point.”
At 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, Downs’ two TD receptions in the Orange Bowl couldn’t have been more different and displayed a wide range in his skills. First, Downs scored on a beautiful wheel rout in the third quarter giving UNC a 20-17 lead, then just inside the fourth quarter came his gig ‘em play.
Downs wants to do those things and more this season, and the Tar Heels will count on him. With Newsome and Brown gone, they take 109 receptions for 1,783 yards, and 14 touchdowns with them from last season. Downs has big goals for himself.
“I feel like I want to be more explosive than I was last year.” Downs said. “So, I've definitely worked on getting more explosive. I've been in the film room a lot and learned about the offense more. I’ve got about a year of the offense under my belt, just learning and being behind Dazz and getting better at that.
“And just top of the route technique, get off, just trying to become a full better player, trying to be a better blocker because I know I’ve got to block nickels and safeties and linebackers in the slot.”
Following Downs’ bowl performance, offensive coordinator Phil Longo wondered if maybe they should have played him more earlier in the season. But not having the same kind of preparation as in years past because of the restrictions brought on by COVID-19, Downs’ growth was a process. He didn’t display star power right away.
“When I look back at the season, Josh Downs wasn't the same product at the beginning of the year that he was heading into the bowl game,” Longo said. “And we didn't have two-and-a-half weeks to prep for all those games that we did for the bowl game. I think what you saw in the bowl game was twofold:
“One, you saw the product and the reward to all of the work that Coach (Lonnie) Galloway put in with Josh and that entire room, and you saw, to Josh's credit, 11 games of progress, which put him in a position to go out and perform the way he did. He gave us a prolific play threat in that game that we thought we were losing.”
That carried over into the spring and should when the fall arrives. Downs is a playmaker and fits in perfectly with what the Tar Heels need from a getting-it-done and moxie standpoints.
