Maye Excited For His Next Step

*Video of Drake Maye's interview Tuesday is posted below this story.

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CHAPEL HILL – Drake Maye was a bit anxious when he went into Phil Longo’s office for a meeting Sunday evening. He was about to learn who would start at quarterback in North Carolina’s opener Saturday night versus Florida A&M: Himself or Jacolby Criswell.

But Maye’s nerves quickly settled, as Longo, UNC’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, gave 6-foot-5, 220-pound redshirt freshman the good news. He was UNC’s QB1.

“I was kind of anxious with either way it goes,” Maye said Tuesday evening at the Kenan Football Center during his first media availability since winning the well-documented battle. “Jacolby is a great player and we’ve competed since I stepped on campus. A little anxious, but excited what the future holds.”

Maye is quite confident, but he also isn’t much of a boaster. He is an it’s-about-business kind of athlete, which was the prevailing theme of his 12-minute, 37-second Q&A session. So, while he is obviously excited, his message is the task at hand.

“It actually felt great,” Maye said about being the UNC starting quarterback. “All the work I’ve put in, and get out there and get a chance to play this Saturday is going to be fun. I’m excited to be out there under the lights, back in action. It came fast from last season. I’m excited it’s here, and I’m ready to get rolling.”

Maye’s father, Mark, was a starting quarterback at UNC in the 1980s. He has mentored Drake for years as a quarterback. Brother Cole won a national championship in baseball at Florida, and brother Luke won a national championship in basketball at Carolina. Drake played other sports at a high level as well, but he was more the football guy. He was the one who would carry the family QB torch into the future.

First, it appeared he would do so at Alabama, the school to which Maye originally committed. But he flipped to North Carolina, and now will start in a game at the same school and in the same position as his father.

“My dad congratulated me, but obviously he’s still saying, ‘You’ve got a lot of work to do,’” Maye said his father told him. “‘This is another step together… Gotta play and perform and do what matters.'”

Maye played 41 snaps in four appearances last fall, but kept his redshirt because he appeared in only four games. He was 7-for-10 passing with 89 yards and a touchdown, while he ran the ball six times for 62 yards.

Maye and Criswell, a third-year sophomore, began competing for the job last winter after Sam Howell left UNC for the NFL. Since, Maye and Criswell rotated taking practice reps with the first and second units, getting equal snaps with both groups along the way.

But Maye’s consistency, and perhaps his higher ceiling, lifted him into the starting spot.

“Overall, I think my decision making and my ability to kind of do it all,” he said. “I feel like whether it run, throw, make decisions – right guys you have to throw to. I feel like at the end of the day, I’m going to go out there and compete and do it all, do whatever it takes to win.”

Junior running back D.J. Jones said Maye did something a little more regularly than Criswell, and in his eyes, it’s what lifted him over the top.

“Probably consistency,” Jones said. “I’m not really sure what (Coach) Longo said it was, but from what I’ve seen, Drake’s been just a little bit more consistent than Jacolby.”

Junior receiver Josh Downs, owner of UNC’s single-season records for receptions with 101 and receiving yards, 1,335, both of which he set last year, had an idea Maye would get the nod.

“I could say maybe a little bit I had a feeling that it was going to be Drake,” Downs said. “Drake has made some really, really good plays out there in camp. Jacolby was making great plays as well. It was a great competition, Drake got it on top. I’m excited to see him play Saturday.”

Saturday will serve as the start of a new era. The three-year Howell run is over, and now the Maye era is here.