Chip Lindsey evaluates Drake Maye's natural leadership ability

New offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Lindsey hasn’t been a member of North Carolina‘s staff for very long, but can already see what makes quarterback Drake Maye special. Maye is fresh off of an electric redshirt freshman season where he helped lead the Tar Heels to nine wins and a conference championship appearance. Even as a younger player his game already looks polished, but how is Maye as a leader?

“Well I think when you play that position the team, they respond to you,” Lindsey said. “So you need your body language, your energy, your attitude needs to always be good. You’ve got to be a guy that can bring people with you and lead them and he has that natural ability.”

Lindsey has been around his fair share of quarterbacks, joining the Tar Heels this offseason with over 10 years of collegiate coaching experience under his belt. He knows what good command of a team and leadership looks like, and since then he took the job in December, he’s seen nothing but that out of Maye.

“He’s only really been the starter here for one year, and I wasn’t here last year, but when he became the starter he probably earned that by the way he approached work every day in practice. And then he went out and played well on top of it, so now he’s got credibility right?” Lindsey said. “And now when he says something those guys listen, I mean I’ve see him interact with our players at all positions. They look him in the eye when he’s talking to them, I think he’s got natural leadership ability.”

Maye’s elite level of play last season defintley garnered the respect of his peers. He helped lead the Tar Heels to a historic 9-1 start to their season and established himself as one of the country’s best dual threat quarterbacks. Last season Maye threw for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdown passes, along with being UNC’s leading rusher with 698 yards on the ground and seven touchdown scampers.

“And things I wanted to know from a standpoint of leading our offense is just to be confident, be positive, be able to correct guys without demeaning them and downplaying them and I think he does a great job of mixing that,” Lindsey said. “There’s a time to really get after someone and there’s a time to encourage and I think he’s got a really good knack of knowing when to do that.”

Drake Maye checked all the boxes on the field last season, but if he can check them off the field as well regarding his leadership, he may be able to take the Tar Heels to new heights this season.