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WATCH: Josh Downs scores 37-yard touchdown against Virginia Tech

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•09/03/21
josh downs
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Sophomore receiver Josh Downs was expected to be a breakout star for the North Carolina Tarheels this season by many members of the media, including ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.

Friday night he showed why, as he caught a pass from quarterback Sam Howell, and raced 37 yards for the touchdown. Check out the video below.

The score cut the Virginia Tech lead to 14-7 in the third quarter but Virginia Tech scored a field goal to make it 17-7. After that catch, Downs has four catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. The North Carolina offense had struggled to get anything going for most of the night.

The pass made Howell the Tar Heels’ all-time leader in career passing touchdowns.

Josh Downs High School Stats

Josh Downs, a 5-foot-10 inch, 180-pound wide receiver was rated as a four-star and a top-60 overall recruit coming out of high school. He hauled in 187 catches for 3,019 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns in his final three seasons at North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Georgia). He chose the Tarheels over offers from Penn State, Appalachian State, Arkansas and Boston College.

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On3’s Sean Labar wrote how ESPN’s Rece Davis thought Sam Howell was the best quarterback in America. Part of his write-up is below.

Rece Davis on Sam Howell

Rece Davis is plugged into the college football world more than most. Like his colleagues from ESPN College Gameday, Davis has made college football’s unique pageantry, style and competition his life and career. The show is one of the top-performing at ESPN.

With North Carolina’s tough week-one ACC matchup in Blacksburg inching closer by the day, Davis issued a major statement.

“I believe Sam Howell, as I sit here in late August. is the best quarterback in the country,” Davis said on the Packer and Durham show. “And if you’re going to make a run at Clemson, the giant, and if you’re going to make a run at breaking into that College Football Playoff tier, having the best quarterback is a great place to start.”

On3’s Sean Labar also contributed to the report.