Drake Maye opens up on his familiarity with UNC-Duke rivalry

North Carolina‘s freshman quarterback Drake Maye is arguably one of the most prepared individuals on the roster for their upcoming rivalry game against the Duke Blue Devils. Maye was born into and grew up in the middle of the Tabacco Road Rivalry. Drake’s father, Mark, was the Tar Heel starting quarterback in 1986 and 1987. And his brother Luke didn’t play football for North Carolina but was a member of the UNC basketball team under Roy Williams. And as the Tar Heels head into this Saturday’s matchup, Maye dives into his familiarity with the UNC-Duke rivalry.

“Oh yeah, it’s a huge rivalry,” said Maye. “One of my first memories of Duke Carolina, I was a ballboy when Luke was being recruited. Coach (Roy) Williams let me be a ballboy for one of the homecoming games at the Dean Dome. And I think Luke’s first start was at Duke. That’s one of my main memories.

“It’s always fun beating Duke, but they have a squad this year, and they are going to come ready. I think they’re going to pack out the stadium. So, it should be a fun night.”

As mentioned above, Drake’s brother Luke saw action in the more well-known portion of the two schools’ rivalry, on the hardwood. He played four years at North Carolina from 2015- 2019. He was a contributor to the team’s success in 2017, culminating in a national championship.

This year, on the field, feels like the matchup between the two schools will be more indicative of their rivalry on the basketball court, with both teams highly competitive. North Carolina enters the game with a 5-1 overall record and is 2-0 in the ACC conference. Duke is one of the surprise teams early in the college football season and is 4-2 with a 1-1 record in conference.

This year the redshirt freshman has been a pleasant surprise in his own right. On the season, Maye has completed 139 of his 193 pass attempts (69.4 completion percentage) for 1903 yards, 21 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Along with his 90.6 QBR rating, Maye is in the top ten in the country in passing yards and touchdowns. His seven to one touchdown interception ratio is also one of the best in the nation.