Mack Brown provides latest information on Josh Downs, Antoine Green injuries

Although North Carolina receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green are both practicing this week coming off a bye, coach Mack Brown still considers them questionable for Saturday’s contest against Notre Dame.

The Tar Heels’ leading returning receiver, Downs suffered a lower-body injury in the season opener versus Florida A&M and missed the next two games. Green suffered a collarbone injury in a fall scrimmage but could return on Saturday. In 2021, he had 31 catches for 612 yards and five touchdowns, which was good for second-most on the team behind Downs.

Asked Wednesday whether either player was ready to go full-contact at practice or if they were still taking things lightly, Brown said it was hard to say. He also said it will ultimately be the players’ decision on whether they feel ready to take the field.

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“It’s a hard question to answer because your receivers usually don’t get hit a lot during practice,” Brown said. “It’s thud. So they have been thud. We don’t tackle them during the season during practice. So that will be the question is, No. 1: Will they be ready to go on Saturday? And No. 2: Their first tackles will be in the game if they play.

“So it’s a little bit harder. You don’t want to hurt ’em in practice, but you’ve got to get them ready to go. We’ve told both kids that, ‘Even if the doctor tells you you’re ready and you don’t feel like it, don’t play. That’s up to you.’ That’ll be a decision they’ll make.”

In UNC’s Week 0 win over Florida A&M, Downs hauled in nine catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns. With the junior sidelined, redshirt freshman Kobe Paysour has led the Tar Heels this season in receptions and receiving yards with 14 for 172 yards.

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.

Last season, Downs had 10 catches for 142 yards during the Tar Heels’ 44-34 loss to Notre Dame. The kickoff for this weekend’s game is at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this report.