Matthew Downing, the starting quarterback for Elon University’s football team, said going into his seventh year has created a lot of doubt from others, but he remains steadfast in his decision to keep coming back to football.
“People say all the time, ‘You're 24, give it up,’” Downing said. “I just don't see it that way. People haven’t walked in my shoes and people don't understand what I've been through to get here.”
Downing’s seven year college football journey is not normal by any means. College football quarterbacks typically only get four years of eligibility. But Downing was plagued by a lack of playing time, injuries and playing through COVID-19. All three roadblocks provided a path for the NCAA to grant Downing more years of eligibility as his college career went on.
His journey started back in 2018 when he was recruited by the University of Georgia. However, after a long recruiting process, he was told that they were actually going to go with future NFL first round pick Justin Fields. Downing was given the opportunity to be a walk-on with a chance for a scholarship the following year.
“So I took a chance on myself, went there, had a great year and played in four games,” Downing said.
Despite this, Georgia decided to go in another direction and didn’t offer Downing a scholarship the following year, leading to Downing to transfer to Texas Christian University in 2019.
At TCU, Downing found success, playing for three seasons and had his first collegiate start game in the 2020 season opener against Iowa State, throwing for 158 yards and a touchdown.
However, after starting some games in 2020, his coaches at TCU decided to bench him. Downing remained unfazed in the face of this adversity and second time in his college career where he lost his spot on the roster.
“I felt like I should have been the guy in my eyes but they just decided to go a different direction and that's okay, it's just kind of how it rolls,” Downing said.
After graduating from TCU in 2021 with a degree in communications studies, Downing realized he didn’t want to stop playing football. He said he was too passionate about the game to stop when he had the chance to keep playing. Downing, an Atlanta native, grew up watching the Atlanta Falcons with his brothers. He looked up to the superstar quarterbacks like Micahel Vick and Matt Ryan, and they helped create football into something that meant everything to him. Football meant something more than just a scholarship or the chance to be on a team with his friends; It was a dream to fulfill.
“I had a dream and I still have a dream of playing big time college football and playing in the National Football League one day, and I feel like I'm good enough to do it,” Downing said. “I just don't want to stop, and I'm lucky to have parents that support that.”
As a result of his time redshirting at Georgia and TCU, he had the opportunity to continue his collegiate football career. Sonny Cumbie, former TCU offensive coordinator and now head coach for Louisiana Tech University’s football program, reached out to his former player and offered a scholarship to continue playing football at Louisiana Tech.
At Louisiana Tech, Downing competed for the starting job before the 2022 season and won. Downing started the first game of the season, but it didn’t last long before another roadblock to his collegiate career appeared. After throwing 356 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions in four games, Downing was hit in his left knee as he was throwing the football in a game against Rice University. His season was over, having ruptured his MCL and torn his ACL.
After the season was over, his coaches at Louisiana Tech decided to go in another direction. His age combined with multiple knee injuries were just too much of a risk, forcing Downing to enter the transfer portal and uproot his life for yet another time.
At this point, Downing was in his early twenties, but he believed that he still could fulfill his dream of playing big-time football even at an older age.
“It's tough being 24 and a seventh year guy, and I could be going and working right now, but I also have a fiance here with me who's very supportive of that and allows me to chase my dream,” Downing said. “I have put so much time and effort and pretty much my entire life into this, so I have to see it through.”
Downing ended up transferring to Elon right before the 2023 season and is very happy that he’s ending his lengthy collegiate career at Elon. It’s a stark contrast to Georgia where he started his college football career, but he said that it’s the best college decision he’s made.
“I think it's a full circle moment for me,” Downing said. “If anybody's seen every single landscape of college football from a player's perspective, I could say that it's me. If there's a situation that anybody has been through, I've probably been through it. So I think just to see me as an 18-year-old kid go to this huge school and then come around and have been through adversity but I'm still standing.”
Since transferring to Elon, Downing has found great success, starting nine times and ending the 2023 season on a hot streak by throwing for an average of 294 yards over the final four games of the season with 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Downing led the team to a fantastic end of the year, just missing the FCS Playoffs by a game, setting up this season with potential for greatness.
Going into his final season in collegiate football, Downing is excited for the 2024 season for Elon. Having fully recovered from his knee injuries, Downing feels more healthy and ready than last year.
Head coach Tony Trisciani also expects a much improved version of Downing this season. Due to his summer 2023 arrival to Elon last year, Downing wasn’t there for spring practices and the coaches had to get him ready for the season in a hurry. According to Trisciani, Downing was still trying to build chemistry and learn the system, but a year at Elon has made all the difference.
“Now you're looking at another year off of his injury and recovery, and he is a better player on the field,” Trisciani said. “He's got a better grasp of what we're doing offensively as well as chemistry with the group of receivers we have.”
Trisciani said Downing knows his teammates much better and has stepped into a leadership role with confidence. Trisciani attributes his experience with other big-time football programs as the reason for his leadership ability.
“He brings a maturity to the program,” Trisciani said. “He's followable which is important for a leader, and he's got a lot of experience around some great players and some great programs.”
Offensive coordinator Drew Folmar said Downing’s experience with other programs’ systems allows him to teach his teammates with many ways of articulating it. Folmar also said Downing is a much different quarterback than he was a year ago when he first joined the team.
“I thought he has done a really good job of transitioning and growing in the system and there's things that here in the offseason that we have done and expanded upon because we realize these are Matthew’s strengths and then there's other things that we've kind of put on the backburner because it's not playing to his strengths,” Folmar said.
Looking towards life after college, Downing will graduate with a master’s degree in business analytics in December. According to Elon University Associate Athletics Director of Strategic Communications Jason Knavel, Downing wants to explore broadcasting after football.
However, Downing isn’t finished with football just yet. Downing said the team’s failure to win the CAA after a loss to the University of Richmond late in the season last year left a sour taste in the team’s mouth.
“We have unfinished business as a team,” Downing said.
Elon Football could certainly make due on that unfinished business this year with a much expected successful season being the only CAA Football program to finish above .500 in league play in each of the past three seasons. Additionally, the Phoenix has won 10 of its last 11 home games.
The Phoenix is poised for an excellent year off three straight winning seasons, and Trisciani is excited for the upcoming season and to see what Downing can bring to the table.
“I look forward to touchdowns and first downs,” Trisciani said. “There's no self imposed limitations for who we can be as a football program, so there's a lot to look forward to.”
The team is expected to see plenty of touchdowns and first downs coming off electric offensive performances with 260+ points in each of the last three seasons.
Downing has seen it all in his seven years playing college football, but he hopes to finally get a happy ending at Rhodes Stadium.
“We have a chance and an opportunity to do something really special this year,” Downing said. “Instead of having to wait around and see what other people are going to do, we have a chance to control our own destiny, and hopefully make a run for the national title this year.”