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CHAPEL HILL – “Air Drake” is a thing these days.

It’s a joke, but not entirely.

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye has been bestowed the moniker dubbed by a member of the media that covers the Tar Heels following another aerial episode by the standout true freshman last Saturday in a 41-10 win over Virginia Tech at Kenan Stadium.

The name has some merit because of Maye’s propensity to try and leap over defenders, causing fans to gasp, and his coaches’ palpitations to ramp up. He has landed in the area of his head and shoulders each time, and versus the Hokies, too a couple of minutes to pull himself up from the field. Maye appeared injured at first, satisfying the worst fears for those previously imploring Maye to chill out on the Superman stuff.

“I hope I didn’t look like I was overreacting,” Maye said after the game, noting his prolonged presence laying on the ground. “When you can’t breathe, a lot of people probably thinking I was kind of milking it. That feeling you can’t breathe is pretty bad.”

Getting the wind knocked out of him is an acceptable result of Maye literally trying to jump over defenders. But the concern is next time he and the Tar Heels won’t be so fortunate.

“We talk to him a whole lot, he just needs to listen,” UNC Coach Mack said Monday during his weekly press conference at the Kenan Football Center. “He’s trying to slide better, he’s trying to step out of bounds better, even sometime throw the ball away.

“Don’t hold it so long trying to make a play that you take a hit… The one the other day, he’s not going to score, so why leap?”

Maye leaps because he is ultra-competitive. His drive to succeed is off the charts. UNC offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Phil Longo said they had a similar problem with former quarterback Sam Howell. At just 6-feet, compared to Maye who is 6-foot-5, Howell tried running guys over or would pull, twist, and plunge forward for that extra yard.

Longo said it’s the competitive nature of most quarterbacks, and that’s absolutely the case with Maye. So, his appeal to the team-first redshirt freshman is to avoid being selfish. In other words, the team needs him on the field, so he shouldn’t enhance his risk of getting injured so he can’t be out there slinging the ball around.

“Let’s be smart because we want to be able to get up after these jumps and after these plays, and be able to help the team on the next play, the next day, and the next game,” Longo said his message was to Maye. “But now I’m on the phone with mom and dad and recruiting their help to try and quell Drake.”

Maye’s father was a starting quarterback at Carolina in the 1980s, so he understands all nuances of the position. But QBs run more now than they did back then, and Maye is a supreme athlete and highly confident. There really isn’t a play he doesn’t believe he can make.

Yet, Maye recognizes he must chill out on the leaps. Asked Saturday if he had reached the official end of the “Air Drake” era, the budding star responded with a smile.

“I sure hope so,” he replied. “I made have cleared the first one, but the second guy got me. Sometimes, being 6-5 you get tired of people going low on you; hurts the shins and stuff, ankles get rolled up. That close to the goal line. I didn’t think I could actually make it, but you just have to be smarter.”

True to his aggressive nature, the leap versus the Hokies was a bit premeditated. If anything, this may offer more insight into Maye’s mindset and spirit than anything else.

UNC ran some quarterback draws and the Hokies continually went low on Maye, so he told backup quarterback Conner Harrell next time they went low, “I’m going to hurdle the next guy. I don’t think that was the right place or time when I did it. It’s just instinct.”

Now, Maye must alter those instincts, because the next time he goes airborne could be the last time he does anything on the field for a while.