Downey was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and was a two-sport all-star in football and track & field at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody.[1] He was a two-time all-star in football and was named captain of the Harry Agganis All-Star Classic. He also holds the school record in the shot put (53'6") for track & field. Downey did a postgraduate year at Worcester Academy, where he was named MVP of the 1992 Hilltoppers football team as a center. Downey received a full athletic scholarship to play college football at the University of New Hampshire, a national powerhouse Division I-AA program. At UNH, Downey was named team captain in 1997 and was a two-time All-Star. He was named First-team All-Atlantic 10, First-team All-East and First-team All-New England for the Wildcats.[2]
Professional career
Downey was signed by the San Diego Chargers in 1998 as an undrafted free agent, but was cut prior to training camp for salary cap reasons.[3]
Downey was on the 53-man roster of the Washington Redskins in 2002.[2] He also attended training camp with Washington in 2003.[4]
Downey signed with the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League in October 2003,[4] and played for the team the following season, his last as a professional player.[6]
Post-playing career
Downey was named offensive/defensive line coach of the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul in 2005,[2] and coached for the team in 2006 and 2007.[6] He then became an associate head coach of the Columbus Destroyers before the league folded in 2008.[1]
Along with working for the athletic training firm The Program, Downey started a business called Gridiron Training in June 2009.[1]