College football: 10 best dynamic duos to watch in 2021

So often when it comes to college football, greatness comes in pairs. Whether it was Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith at Alabama, Reggie Bush and Lendale White at USC, Ed Reed and Phillip Buchanon at Miami, or even Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson at LSU, history has delivered fans some phenomenally good and entertaining dynamic duos in this sport.

And we’re fortunate as fans that dynamic duos aren’t something that’s going away in the 2021 college football season. Rather, we’re just going to see more and, perhaps, some of them will end up among the all-time great duos in the history of this beautiful game on the gridiron.

In looking at the possible duos for the upcoming season, we made the tough call to not have D.J. Uiagalelei from Clemson or Bryce Young from Alabama included as we simply don’t know who they’ll have a rapport with on their respective offenses. But while there were certainly many other considerations and some tough cuts to make, these are the top 10 dynamic duos in college football for the 2021 season coming on both sides of the ball.

10. Sam Howell and Josh Downs (North Carolina)

What Sam Howell has accomplished since joining Mack Brown in Chapel Hill in 2019 has been nothing short of fantastic. Named the starting quarterback as a freshman, Howell has thrown for 7,227 yards with 68 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions while also rushing into the end zone on six different occasions as well. There’s a reason he enters the 2021 campaign as one of the outright favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.

But one of the biggest questions for the Tar Heels coming into the year is who Howell will pair up with to continue that level of production. After all, running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter along with wide receiver Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome have all left for the NFL. However, if North Carolina’s Orange Bowl matchup with Texas A&M showed us a glimpsed into the future, it was that Josh Downs is going to get peppered and put up big numbers with Howell.

Downs only played in four games as a true freshman last season with limited work. In the bowl game, however, he showed up in a massive way against one of the best defenses in the country. The young pass-catcher hauled in four receptions for 91 yards and two scores, albeit in a losing effort.

Lining up primarily in the slot, Downs has the physical tools to take over as a target hog for the Tar Heels offense. And with the ability of Howell to push the ball down the field, expect Downs to build on his Orange Bowl outing and help create a newly formed dynamic duo.