Drake Maye reacts to his record 5-touchdown day surpassing his father's previous best
Drake Maye joined his father in North Carolina football history Saturday. The Tar Heels quarterback threw for five touchdowns in a season-opening 56-24 victory against Florida A&M, the most ever from a UNC player in their first start.
Maye’s father, Mark Maye, was also a quarterback at North Carolina from 1984-87, where he at one point broke a record of his own. Against Georgia Tech in 1987, Mark Maye became the first Tar Heels player to pass for 400 yards in a single game as he threw for 406 and four touchdowns in a 30-23 victory. In that same game, he also set the school record for longest pass play in school history after throwing a 93-yard touchdown.
Asked about surpassing his dad’s career-high in just his first college start, Drake Maye remained humble.
“They asked me that on the field after the game,” he said. “I’ve actually been asking to see some tape of my dad playing because I never really saw him play. My dad won’t be too sad about that though.”
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Mark Maye currently ranks 11th in Tar Heels history with 3,459 yards passing and 15th in touchdowns (20). Although both of his records from the 1987 season have since been broken, he still holds a special place in UNC lore.
But if Saturday’s season opener was any indication, Drake Maye could be on his way to surpassing his father on the career list as well. The redshirt freshman will look to continue his impressive start to the season when UNC next faces Appalachian State at noon ET on the road Saturday.
Drake Maye assesses his season-opening performance
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye starred in his first career start against Florida A&M Saturday, and has solidified himself as the guy in Carolina moving forward. The Tar Heels legacy addressed his dazzling performance following the first of what the Carolina fanbase hopes to be many highlight reel showings.
“I was a little anxious and I get nervous before every game regardless of who it is. So it felt good to be out there with the guys,” Maye said. “I think y’all can see we’ve got a lot of talent, just need to it put together… There were some first-game jitters. I just kind of told myself that I’ve been practicing a year and a half for this. All this work I’ve done, it’s gonna pay off. Just trust the process and trust my teammates.”
That anxiousness didn’t last long, as Maye has rewrote Carolina record books already. He became the first UNC quarterback to throw for five touchdown passes in his first career start, as well as becoming the first UNC quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in a season-opening game.
Maye completed 29-of-37 passes for 294 yards and five touchdowns mid-way through the fourth quarter, adding another 55 yards rushing after a huge run to begin the game offensively. After building a comfortable 56-24 lead in the fourth quarter, Maye did not return to the field for the remainder of the quarter.
“It was fun out there. I thought that the crowd had a good turnout. It felt good playing with the guys out there for our first game,” he said. “It took us a little while after the first drive to get it going, but I though we did a nice job, got the win and got to win on coach’s birthday.”
On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.