Drake Maye responds to Mack Brown's 'make it, take it' sentiment at quarterback

While Drake Maye narrowly beat out Jacolby Criswell to be North Carolina’s starting quarterback against Florida A&M on Week 0, Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown has maintained he will go with whichever quarterback is leading the offense to the end zone. While Maye will walk out first, UNC will have no issues going to the hot hand.

This isn’t borne out of Brown lacking confidence in his quarterbacks but rather the other way around: He’s confident either one could go out there and lead North Carolina to wins. After being named the starter, Maye isn’t too worried about the gauntlet that’s been thrown down by his coach.

“Just taking it play-by-play, one play at a time,” Maye said. “Doing what I can to win the play. But whether it’s positive or negative, just leave it in the past and go execute the next one.”

Maye, a redshirt freshman, was a four-star recruit out of Charlotte who chose North Carolina over offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and others. He sat for a year behind Sam Howell, and now his decision to head to Chapel Hill has so far been validated. Criswell, a sophomore, was also a four-star prospect out of high school, and may well still play for the Tar Heels this season.

Along with Maye, there will be a number of other new faces making their way into the North Carolina lineup, including two receivers — JJ Jones and Gavin Blackwell — who Maye is making sure to build chemistry with.

“We got a lot of new faces who will be in the starting line up,” Maye said. “Keep working at practice, staying after practice, getting some extra throws with the two guys in my class, JJ and Gavin, that we got there, they’re going to be good. Just creating that relationship, creating that player connection.