North Gwinnett’s Josh Downs is fast, funny and honest—not necessarily in that order.

Downs is 5-10, 170 pounds, too, so you’ll have to forgive folks if they were a little slow to hop on his bandwagon. But, armed with a sophomore highlight tape that’s basically just No. 11 running past and away from dudes, the four-star ’20 prospect is flying under the radar anymore..

Over the span of four days in May, Downs received scholarship offers from Oregon, West Virginia, Iowa State, Louisville and Michigan. 

Downs audibly beams when he talks about the last team on that list. And the Wolverines have an ace recruiter in IMG cornerback DJ Turner, who shared a locker room with Downs at North Gwinnett last fall.

“DJ knew I was going to get the (Michigan) offer before I actually knew,” Downs explained. “Michigan coaches went and talked to his mom about me and he knew it was coming. When I got it, he was like, ‘I told you it was coming. They told me they was going to offer you yesterday.’”

Downs paid Ann Arbor a visit two months later, and came away sounding a lot like a guy who will be wearing maize and blue in two years.

Say now Ann Arbor.. How that deuce look on me?〽️ #GoBlue @Coach_BenMcD @WRTreezy pic.twitter.com/l7mzlbDBEi

— J D X I (@JoshDowns_) July 28, 2018

“DJ was like, ‘Just come up there with me. We can make a home up there. It’s the best choice by far. I knew I was going there as soon as they offered me. It’s just different,’” Downs explained. “We really talk about it probably every other day. Go Blue and all that.”

Sure. Go Blue and all that. But what’s so different about a Big Ten college town in Michigan—particularly as it pertains to a wide receiver from Georgia?

“The city, the campus, it was all together. You could feel it,” Downs said. “The coaches are always telling me, ‘We need you up here. We’re moving to the spread. We need a guy like you who can take it to the crib on a screen route, that can get open on anything.’

“The city’s with the school. They’ve sold out every game for the past 40 years—and that’s 110,000 seats. The facilities are great. It was really just like nothing else you could ask for.”

Downs’ Jim Harbaugh impression is spot on—and provides a glimpse at that aforementioned sense of humor—but it’s clearly all respect between player and coach.

“He’s just a cool, genuine man,” Downs said of Harbaugh. “He was talking to me and my mom… for about 15 minutes. There was no awkward moments in the conversation. We were just always laughing and stuff. It was good.”

Still, the recruitment of Josh Downs is far from a wrap.

You see, Josh’s dad is Gary Downs—the former NC State running back who rushed for 835 yards and six touchdowns as a senior before being drafted in the third round by the New York Giants.

The Wolfpack was in on Gary’s son early and often. The relationship is rock solid and the sense of familiarity is unsurpassed. So, while Michigan sure seems like the leader in the clubhouse, NC State remains within striking distance.

Whoever wins, the prize will be substantial. Downs is an electrifying talent that can work in space or take the top off of the defense.

See for yourself: (You’ll get the idea within the first minute, but go ahead and stick around for a while.)

Despite absorbing some key losses, including Turner, defending state champion North Gwinnett will again contend for a title, thanks in very large part to Downs—a 3.9-student with an elite work ethic.

“I go to work every day regardless,” Downs says. “I saw a quote that said, ‘Get  one percent better every day and you’ll be better than the rest,’ and I really take that into mind. I try to get better every single day, take every single rep seriously. I never take anything for granted. I’m always working, just trying to get better, because I know some people think because of my size I’m not going to be the best. But, if I’m out there on the field, I’m going to be the best.”

And, if for some reason, you thought the Bulldogs would rest on their laurels after earning the crown last season, you’d be mistaken. There’s no sense of entitlement inside of head coach Bill Stewart’s field house. Downs said the team didn’t actually expect to win it all last year (the honesty…) and no one’s anticipating an easy path back to the top.

“To be honest, going into (last) season, we didn’t think we were going to win state,” Downs said. “It wasn’t until the playoffs that we really thought we were going to win.

"We’re still going to work every day. We’re not relaxed,” Downs said. “We have a tough schedule. Wekiva is one of the top teams from Florida. We know Grayson and Marietta, they coming this year, too. It’s not going to be a cake walk. When we get to the playoffs, we know we’re going to have to fight. And Coach Stewart won’t let us chill out. It’s always 100 percent with us.”

Downs is not wrong. It will be a treacherous road to another title once the Bulldogs return to the tournament. In the meantime, Wekiva will, without question, be the toughest test on the regular season schedule.

The Mustangs are loaded—particularly on defense, where Rich Bedesm’s crew is led by four-star linebacker Rian Davis.

As it turns out, Downs and Davis already know each other well.

“What’s crazy is, at the Rivals 5-Star Challenge, I walked in my room and my roommate wasn’t there,” Downs said. “So I was just looking around to see what his name was, and I see ‘Rian Davis.’”

The name didn’t immediately ring a bell, so Downs looked him up.

“It said 6-3, 250 (pound) outside linebacker. And I was like, ‘Oh dang, this dude huge.’ Then I looked at the school and it was Wekiva.

“I was like, ‘Oh, snap.’”

After Downs’ detective work was complete, he and Davis became fast friends upon meeting, talking some ball and looking forward to a Freedom Bowl face-off that is now just days away.

“He’s a dog,” Downs says of Davis. “That’s going to be a good game, I feel. I’m ready for it.”

So are we. 

The Freedom Bowl, in its entirety, will air LIVE on FloFootball during Labor Day Weekend. The much-anticipated North Gwinnett-Wekiva matchup will serve as the grand finale, with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 PM ET.