Star UNC wide receiver Josh Downs is going pro. On Friday morning, Downs announced he would be opting out of Carolina’s Holiday Bowl game against Oregon later this month to prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Downs is UNC’s single-season record holder in both receptions (101, the only Tar Heel to ever catch 100 passes in a single season) and receiving yards (1,335). He set both records in 2021, his first season as a starter. Downs set a career-high which still stands with 203 yards in a win against Virginia. He was named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the nation’s top pass-catcher.

This season, despite missing two games due to a leg injury, Downs still led all Carolina receivers with 94 receptions for 1,029 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns. He’s the first ACC receiver to record consecutive 1,000 yard seasons since Carolina’s own Dyami Brown did so in 2019 and 2020.

“He’s a phenomenal player,” UNC quarterback Drake Maye said of Downs. “He’s got a knack for getting open. And when he’s open, I’m gonna get him the rock.”

Downs was particularly torrid over a four-game stretch in the middle of the season. In contests against Duke, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Wake Forest, he combined for 46 catches, 548 yards and six touchdowns (three of which came against the Demon Deacons, all in the first half). In his final collegiate game against Clemson in the ACC Championship, Downs caught 11 passes for 100 yards, both best on the team. He was named first team All-ACC at wide receiver (and second team as a punt returner) and a Biletnikoff semifinalist for the second consecutive season.

“He’s got a toughness and a chip on his shoulder,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said of Downs earlier this season. “He can get a little loud sometimes with others and he’s getting better at that, but that’s what makes him good. He fights. He said, ‘I’ve been small my whole life, so I grew up fighting people and trying to prove who I was and how big I was and how good I was.’ That’s just who he is.”

Despite only starting for two seasons, Downs ranks in the top 4 in UNC history in catches (202, third), receiving yards (2,483, fourth) and touchdowns (22, second). He is projected to be either a first- or second-round pick in the NFL Draft.

 

Featured image via Inside Carolina/Jim Hawkins

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