After yet another sparkling performance in which he notched his sixth straight game with a touchdown catch, UNC sophomore wide receiver Josh Downs was named to the ACC’s Team of the Week Monday afternoon.

Downs caught eight passes for 168 yards and a touchdown against Duke last Saturday. He has caught exactly eight passes in every UNC game this year. Downs’ streak of touchdown catches encompasses all five of Carolina’s games this season, as well as last season’s Orange Bowl against Texas A&M. He is the first Tar Heel ever to catch a touchdown pass in each of UNC’s first five games of the season.

This is the second time during the 2021 season that Downs has been named to the ACC’s Team of the Week. He also received weekly honors after his Week 3 performance against Virginia, when he racked up a career-high 203 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

For his performance against Duke, Downs was also named the team’s Offensive Player of the Game this week by head coach Mack Brown. It’s the second time this season Downs has won the team award, along with the Virginia game. He was also named the team’s Special Teams Player of the Game against the Cavaliers.

“He just continues to play at a really, really high level,” Brown said Monday.

Downs is also turning heads on the national level, having been named to the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award last week. The Biletnikoff Award honors the nation’s top pass catcher at any position. Downs currently ranks in the nation’s top 10 in receiving yards per game (124), total receiving yards (620) and receiving touchdowns (6).

 

Featured image via Associated Press


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