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Drake Maye opens up about ultra-competitive nature, where it comes from

On3 imageby:Dan Morrison•08/24/22•

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Icon Sportswire / Contributor PhotoG/Getty

North Carolina coach Mack Brown named redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye as the starter ahead of the team’s Week 0 game against Florida A&M. For Maye, being named starter was an incredibly emotional moment.

While speaking to the media, Drake Maye opened up about what he considers to be his own ultra-competitive nature. He also spoke about where he feels that competitiveness comes from in his life.

“I think it’s been there, it’s something that’s been there my whole life,” Drake Maye said. “You know, growing up, I think I kind of, the ritual you get a runner-up trophy or just a basic trophy it really doesn’t mean anything.”

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“This is kind of in our household, you know, second is first loser. So, that’s just kind of engraved in me. I just try to do that in every part of my life and just carry that with me,” Drake Maye explained.

That competitive nature isn’t just on the football field, though. As offensive coordinator Phil Longo said, Drake Maye is extremely competitive in every aspect of his game, including playing ping pong during a recruiting event. There, he wouldn’t let anyone else play ping pong.

“I think it’s one of the worst things in sports is, you know, having to watch somebody else play,” he defended himself.

Drake Maye could still split time at quarterback

One thing Mack Brown didn’t rule out was the idea that Drake Maye and Jacolby Criswell could still split time at quarterback. This is because of how close the quarterback competition has been at North Carolina. While Maye did earn the right to be out there first, Criswell has been playing well too.

“Every day, from spring till now, it’s very close…It’s really, really close decision that we ended up just saying, ‘I feel like he’s earned the right to be out there first.'”

“There’s not enough to get into what one is better than the other. We’re so lucky that they’re both good. They’re both smart, they both get along. They both know the offense, they’ve both been here some. Neither one has game experience and we’re lucky that both know how to run our offense,” Mack Brown said.