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CHAPEL HILL – A year ago, Drake Maye was one of two Tar Heels vying for the starting quarterback job. Now, he’s a Heisman Trophy candidate and potential top pick in the NFL Draft whenever he leaves North Carolina, which likely will be following the coming season.

But don’t ask Maye what it’s like not battling for the job. He doesn’t want to hear any such thing. The consummate competitor, Maye will find ways to push himself as if he’s working from behind.

“I’ve got to find ways to compete with myself,” he said. “Find ways to be hard on myself and be my main critic.”

Now that he’s the man, so to speak, Maye recognizes there are other aspects of his position at Carolina he must work to improve. That, too, is part of his competition.

“Also, leadership-wise,” he said. “Last year, me and Jacolby shared the leadership. Nobody really was the main leader as a quarterback. So now I get a chance to take control of the guys. They’re looking at me as the leader of the offense. It’s a great opportunity and comes with the position.”

Aside from his amazing arm, football instincts, and understanding of the game, Maye sees plenty on which he must improve. Footwork has been at the top of the list all offseason. That is also a reason Maye wanted UNC Coach Mack Brown to hire Chip Lindsey as Phil Longo’s replacement last December after the previous QB coach and offensive coordinator left for Wisconsin.

Brown had Maye speak for an hour with the only two true candidates for the job. It was a shrewd move that paid off because that was one of the focuses Maye had in his talk with Lindsey.

“Our drops are different than what they did last year, so our approach is a little different from that standpoint,” Lindsey said. “That’s a little new to him, so we’re trying to clean it up and get it the way I see it should be based on the concepts we’re throwing.

“At the same time, there’s things that already work; we’re not going to change those things.”

Lindsey, who spent last season at Central Florida, and before that was the head coach at Troy, knew all about Maye before arriving in Chapel Hill. But he didn’t know Maye.

Entering into a situation with a nationally known quarterback can be tricky, especially depending on the player’s attitude. How Maye comports himself surprised Lindsey in a good way.

“He’s kind of an awe-shucks kind of humble guy,” Lindsey said. “He doesn’t come across as the guy that people see all over the country… He’s very humble, he’s very hard on himself, which is good; he’s sometimes too hard on himself.

“But I think he’s earned the respect of his teammates, not just because of how well he played last year, but I think also the way he approaches it every day.”

Respect from teammates isn’t anything Maye is searching for because it’s already there, as Lindsey alluded to.

Maye entered into the Heisman conversation late last October, and was stepping into the upper tier nearing the mid-point of November. Some national writers and talking heads had started pushing him for the award before the Tar Heels’ offense stalled some removing him from the competition.

Still, Maye has garnered a ton of attention and all preseason prognostications have him reaching significant heights this season projecting he will improve on his numbers from last fall: 66.2 completion percentage; 38 TDs; 7 INTs; 698 rushing yards with 7 TDs; and ACC Player of the Year. Yet, teammates say you’d never know being around him.

“I think he’s put all that stuff behind him,” junior tight end John Copenhaver said. “He’s had some great achievements, and he’s done amazing this offseason. He’s ready to get down to work, and I really feel like he’s going to have an amazing year, as he did last year. He’s going to keep climbing up the ladder.”

Climbing the ladder for Maye means great footwork, mastering Lindsey’s offense, leading the Tar Heels to more than the nine wins they had last season, and positioning himself to win significant hardware and possibly go first in the NFL Draft next April.

Maye isn’t competing for the starting job right now, but he sure as heck is still competing, perhaps more than ever before.