Downs not a regular sophomore
You start looking for leaders on a football team, and seniors and upperclassmen are always the first ones that will catch your eye.
Every now and then, though, there is someone who breaks the mold. Oklahoma has that in defensive end Ethan Downs.
Because Downs went to high school at Weatherford (Okla.) High, OU fans might feel like they’ve known him for years and years. Truth of the matter is, however, Downs is just a sophomore. But he is a heck of a lot different than the majority of the sophomores in the country.
Defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis has recognized that, and so has head coach Brent Venables when he made Downs one of four player representatives for the Sooners at Big 12 media days in Arlington, Texas, less than two weeks ago.
Littered between one fifth-year senior or older player for each team, there was Downs holding court and showing why he was part of the quartet.
Even if he wasn’t really sure he had earned it.
“I don't really feel deserving of anything. But I feel like it's an opportunity to continue to grow,” said Downs at Big 12 media days. “Continue to give back. Continue to prove myself to Coach Venables that I can be and I will be a leader even if I'm a sophomore. I will be a player he can trust, he can count on. I will be a face that he can put in front of the camera and will resemble the program.
“I want to be trustworthy. And the only way I can be trustworthy is if I'm honest. If I present a bunch of fake stuff, you may eat it up, but I’m fake. So in order to be honest, I’ve got to have something to present that’s good looking, so I have to be disciplined in how I live. And that’s a challenge.”
There are older guys in that defensive room like Marcus Stripling and Reggie Grimes and Hawaii transfer Jonah Laulu, but nobody will bat an eye if it ends up as Downs being the vocal leader for OU’s defense this season.
This is who he is, and who he has always wanted to be. Downs started to become a national name to follow in recruiting around his sophomore season at Weatherford. The Sooners didn’t come calling initially.
Downs racked up offer after offer before OU finally entered the picture following an impressive on-campus camp performance.
If Downs has to prove himself, that’s OK. It’s a position he’s clearly been comfortable with before and looks forward to again.
“Ethan is just a sponge. He really wants to get better, really wants to be the best version of himself,” quarterback Dillon Gabriel said. “Seeing him being able to this summer and grab it, really make it his, you can see it in his body, you can see it in the film room and you can see it when we’re doing skills and drills. He’s working his butt off and I’m very proud of him.”
Downs gradually earned more and more time as a true freshman. He finished the season with 14 tackles, .5 sack, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. And finished on a high note with four tackles and the half sack in OU’s win vs. Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.
He was able to use that to springboard into spring, and he just sounded and looked like a different player. A lot of that can be attributed to his budding bond with Chavis as the two feel like identical people in terms of their personalities and values.
That attitude isn’t lost on Downs’ teammates.
“Being around Ethan and you learn so much,” wide receiver Marvin Mims said. “He’s such a mature guy. He’s so young. Someone who came in here from day one and bought in with OU. A little kid who dreamed of wearing that jersey, wearing the uniform.
“He goes in there and handles his business like that. Football is his main priority and school. He’s handling things really well with time management. A guy who you will never see slip up or make mistakes or anything like that. Just an overall great person.”
Downs has shown the ability to go that extra mile. Not offered by OU but asked to camp to earn it? No problem. Taking an insane number of hours that first semester as a high school senior to guarantee he could be a mid-year enrollee for OU in 2021? Did that, too.
He just gets it in every way possible.
“It’s always been my dream to play here at OU, and I’m gonna live the dream,” Downs said. “Everything just seems to magically fall into place. My parents told me that before, Ethan, it's crazy, the stars just kind of align for you to be successful. Not so much materially-based but successful in the world to reach out to people, to grow. It’s been a crazy, wild ride.”
And a ride that isn’t even close to reaching its highest points or its conclusion. In a lot of ways, this ride has only just begun.