Drake Maye addresses what it means to be the quarterback at North Carolina

North Carolina football is gearing up for its season opener against Florida A&M Saturday night, and Drake Maye will be the starting quarterback for the first snaps of the new Tar Heels season.

Maye comes from a line of Carolina stars, as his brother Luke Maye starred for the basketball team from 2015-2019, and his father, Mark, was the starting quarterback for UNC in the 1980s – and does not take this opportunity lightly.

“I haven’t really thought about it. [That] puts it into perspective,” Maye said. “I think I’m going to be excited. As a home state kid, that’s what I’ve always dreamed of going out there in that Carolina blue and putting on for the state.”

Maye has some big shoes to fill following the departure of Sam Howell to the NFL. Howell totaled 10,283 passing yards and 92 touchdowns over three seasons with the program. Howell had a strong season in 2021, as he threw for 3,056 yards and 24 touchdowns to go along with 828 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground – a season in which Maye got to witness first hand to see the standard Howell has set for UNC quarterbacks.

Still, Maye is not the guy in Carolina yet, as head coach Mack Brown has stated that just because Maye won the right to be QB1 for the Tar Heel’s first drive, Jacolby Criswell will still see the field. Brown called the race “very close.” He also noted that the media and outside forces hot-shotted him into the early QB1 decision.

“This has not been something that surprised them,” Brown said of the announcement. “I mean, they knew from day one they were competing for this job, and I will say the only thing that matters is who will give us the best chance to win. Nothing else is important.”

Regardless, Brown is still confident in Maye’s abilities, otherwise he wouldn’t have been awarded the right to any playing time at all. He came into the program rated as a four-star player, the No. 8 quarterback and the No. 3 player out of the state of North Carolina in the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

After limited playing time as a true freshman last season, Maye is far more comfortable within the offense. Now, as he takes the field against Florida A&M Saturday night, Maye is ready to take another leap during the season as he hopes to lock down the QB1 spot for more than just one drive.