Drake Maye bonds with Chip Lindsey over being a ‘country bumpkin’

With offensive coordinator Phil Longo leaving for Wisconsin, the North Carolina Tar Heels needed to bring in a new offensive coordinator. Their choice was Chip Lindsey, a Gus Malzahn disciple with head coaching experience. Luckily, according to quarterback Drake Maye, he and Lindsey have a way of bonding.

As the Heisman hopeful quarterback explained, he says that Lindsey is a country bumpkin, making him easy and fun to be around.

“Coach [Mack] Brown, he was nice to let me kind of talk to the offensive coordinator candidates and, you know, Coach Lindsey right off the bat jumped off,” Drake Maye said.

“He was awesome. Country bumpkin from Alabama. No, but he’s proved he’s coached some good quarterbacks. You know, Nick Mullens, Jarrett Stidham. So, he’s got some proof in the pudding and I think that’s the big thing.

After three seasons as the head coach at Troy, Chip Lindsey rejoined Gus Malzahn at UCF. With Malzahn calling plays, the Knights had the 31st ranked scoring offense and the 57th ranked passing offense in 2022. For his part, Drake Maye was fourth in passing yards and tied for fifth in passing touchdowns.

“And Also, he’s just fun to be around,” Drake Maye continued. “Us quarterbacks have joy being around him and being in the meetings and looking forward to the rest of spring ball.”

Mack Brown on what it means for Drake Maye to return to North Carolina

There were rumors that multiple schools offered Drake Maye millions of dollars to transfer. He didn’t, though, deciding to stay with the Tar Heels instead. After that, Mack Brown explained what his decision meant for North Carolina.

“Drake, he loves the University of North Carolina. His family is a legacy. His dad was a graduate assistant for me. I’m just proud of who he is. The fact that he committed to somebody else early and then flipped back to us,” Brown said.

“A lot of these guys, like Drake, he is going to have a great life after football because he is a hero in Charlotte. So many people at the university look up to him, and we have to look at what’s best for these guys long-term.”