Drake Maye explains the true benefit of having so many strong weapons offensively

Drake Maye made his starting debut on Saturday, leading North Carolina to a win against Florida A&M early in the college football season. Head coach Mack Brown was more than impressed with his young quarterback, calling it one of the best first games he’s ever seen. With 294 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions, the future is bright for Maye.

After the game, Maye discussed how beneficial having so many strong offensive weapons at his disposal was against Florida A&M. He credited his offensive line for protecting him, letting the skill position players make plays. Maye thinks if he can do his job well, North Carolina is going to fly on offense this season.

“We’re special on this side of the ball,” Maye said. “Offensive line — how about them tonight? Great job. I could have thrown some balls away to help them but we got some players. Just got to do my job and get them the ball.”

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Ten different Tar Heels had receptions on Saturday, with Josh Downs leading the way. The wide receiver had nine catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Downs was a crucial weapon for Sam Howell over the past couple of years. He will need to do the same with Maye throughout 2022.

Mack Brown raves on debut from Drake Maye

Mack Brown had nothing but admiration for his young passer’s season-opening performance. In fact, Brown claimed it was one of the best debuts he’s ever seen from a quarterback. Nearly 300 yards and five touchdowns with no picks is about as good as you can do, frankly.

So here was Brown, heaping the praise onto Drake Maye following the 56-24 win over Florida A&M:

“Very proud of Drake. One of the best first games I’ve ever seen. He was poised. He was accurate. His running ability was good,” said Brown, before explaining why Maye’s frame and size are such an advantage.

“He is very accurate. Got great vision. He’s a good decision maker and he’s big. He’s 6-5, 200 pounds. So he can see. He looks thin. He’s really not. He’s a big guy that obviously can really run. I think the thing that surprised us the most is how fast he is. And we saw that some in his summer work because he won a lot of the races in the summer. And I told the kids I saw those defensive backs and wide receivers. Drake’s beating you, man. And he said his legs are longer. But they knew that they watched him this summer so they knew that he’s got some special skills.”