Austin Downes


Austin Downes was a college football player.

Early years

Downes came from Chicago.

University of Georgia

Downes was a prominent quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia from 1929 to 1931. He was twice All-Southern. He led the team in 1930 to wins over NYU and Yale. The Georgia tradition of rubbing the head of Harry "Squab" Jones to some degree starts with Downes, who refused to rub it. After finally doing so, he returned a kick in the Yale game for a touchdown. The 1931 team of which he was captain suffered just two losses, one to national champion USC, and the other to the team USC beat in the Rose Bowl, Southern champion Tulane.