How North Carolina could hold Drake Maye back from Heisman contention

Few people, if any, are expecting a sophomore slump from North Carolina QB Drake Maye after what he did in Chapel Hill last season. Still, that isn’t the concern of On3’s JD PicKell when making the case against the Tar Heel quarterback for winning the Heisman Trophy.

PicKell broke down Maye’s Heisman case during a recent episode of ‘The Hard Count’. He started by noting that there’s no shortage of talent with him. That means all the statistics that you’ll be looking for will be there when it comes to Maye.

“We’ll start with the positive. You have to include him because he is supremely talented and put up numbers a season ago,” PicKell said. “I mean he accounted for 45 total touchdowns, 38 passing and seven rushing. Over 4,300 yards passing, over 700 yards rushing. Like, the offense yet again, even with Phil Longo not there, is going to go through Drake Maye.”

However, then came the negative from PicKell. He said the biggest issue for Maye is going to be UNC’s record. With the defense that the Tar Heels have proven to play as of late, he is worried that that side of the football is going to hold Maye back from being in serious contention.

“Drake Maye isn’t higher on this list through any fault of his own,” stated PicKell. “The issue is Drake Maye doesn’t play defense also. And North Carolina’s defense leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t think they’re going to be much better this coming season based on what we know right now.”

“My concern is is North Carolina, as a team, going to be in position to equip Drake Maye to be in that Heisman Trophy conversation? (Maye’s) plenty good. He’s going to make a whole lot of money in the NFL. He’ll probably be the second pick in the NFL Draft this time next season. Nobody should be down on Drake Maye,” said PicKell. “But the way the Heisman Trophy works? I have a hard time believing that he’s going to be able to, with the success of his team, just outright win it.”

The defensive issues didn’t cost Maye much last season. He was still able to bring home awards like ACC Player of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year. However, in order to get to New York, he’ll be relying on them to hold up their end even more so and, with that, PicKell has his doubts about how that could work out for him.