Drake Maye reminds coaches of a few NFL stars
Despite the UNC football team’s uneven finish to 2023, there’s no fact in denying it had a stud under center.
Drake Maye was a major part of why the Tar Heels even remained competitive in the ACC, starting 6-0 and making the college football world wonder, “Is North Carolina legit?”
Maye threw for 1,902 yards and tossed 12 touchdowns in UNC’s first six games, including a pair for 400-yard outings against Minnesota and Syracuse. He had briefly fallen out of Heisman contention after an uneven first two games, but played his way back in with his hot start.
Even with the Tar Heels suffering yet another epic collapse to finish the year 8-5, Maye is still projected as a Top-5 pick in April’s NFL Draft.
Not only that, but some coaches are comparing him to the likes of a hotshot rookie and two NFL star quarterbacks.
Josh Allen and Justin Herbert are two of the NFL’s most dynamic quarterbacks, with their arm strength, accuracy and ability to escape pressure amongst the best. Allen is a 2-time All-Pro who’s been in MVP contention, despite the lack of a deep receiving corps, while Herbert was the 2021 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with a receiver group that includes Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
CJ Stroud, the former Ohio State Buckeye, was arguably this year’s best rookie. He led the Houston Texans to a Wild Card win behind an outstanding rookie season – 4,108 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns to just five picks, 167 rushing yards and three more scores on the ground.
Maye finished his Tar Heel career with 8,018 passing yards, 63 passing touchdowns to just 16 interceptions, while adding 1,209 rushing yards and 16 scores on the ground.
It’s still a mystery which team will take Maye as their quarterback of the future, but we know he has a bright one.
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