North Carolina expected to be without star wide receiver Josh Downs against Georgia State

North Carolina appears set to be without its star wide receiver for a second straight week.

Josh Downs, a 2021 first-team All-ACC selection and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, is expected to miss the Tar Heels’ game at Georgia State Saturday afternoon, sources tell On3. North Carolina then faces Notre Dame in Week 4 following a bye week, with Downs’ availability surely to be a big storyline heading into that game.

The junior has been working back from a lower body he suffered during North Carolina’s Week 0 win over Florida A&M, which he finished with nine catches, 78 yards and two touchdowns.

Downs broke UNC single-season records last season with 101 catches and 1,335 receiving yards. The catch total led the ACC and ranked fifth nationally. The yardage ranked second in the conference and 11th nationally.

He was also third nationally in yards after the catch with 754 and had a touchdown catch in eight straight games at one point, one shy of the program record set by Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice in 1947 and ’48.

Even without Downs, though, North Carolina redshirt freshman QB Drake Maye threw for 352 yards with four touchdown passes during the Tar Heels’ 63-61 win over Appalachian State last week.

The Tar Heels accumulated 567 yards, 29 first downs and seven offensive touchdowns. Four different players had at least three catches, including freshman wide receiver Kobe Paysour, who led the team with eight catches for 92 yards and a touchdown after posting just one catch for seven yards in the win over Florida A&M.

North Carolina enters the matchup against Georgia State as a seven-point favorite. The Panthers opened this year with a 35-14 loss to South Carolina but did win seven of their final eight games last season to finish with an 8-5 record following a 1-4 start.

The Tar Heels beat Georgia State, 59-17, in Chapel Hill last season.