Maye Satisfied With Footwork Improvement

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CHARLOTTE – One might say Drake Maye is a perfectionist.

Uber aware of any and all mistakes, the North Carolina quarterback strives to clean up every nuance of his game that might have been off for a single snap in a single game. Win by 30 points, Maye will still find things to isolate that need fixing.

So, when the 2022 ACC Player of the Year laid out his list of must-dos this offseason, sitting at the top was to improve his footwork. Very good last fall, Maye wants it to be great.

And when former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Phil Longo left for the same post at Wisconsin last December, UNC Coach Mack Brown allowed Maye to play a role in finding a replacement.

Maye spoke with the only two true candidates for the position, and not long after, Chip Lindsey was hired. A reason Maye has cited multiple times over the last seven months, backed up by Brown, was he thought Lindsey could teach him in a manner that would shore up aspects of his game, notably footwork.

With fall camp on the horizon, Maye is content with the progress made in that department.

“I’d like to say now while I’m on (the) air (being recorded) I’d like to say I’m satisfied,” he said last Thursday at the ACC Kickoff. “But it’s different ball with live guys coming at you. You don’t really get a gauge; you get a better gauge than you do… Until those guys are able to hit me, it’s a little different story. I think I’ll gauge that at the end of the season.”

The importance of footwork for quarterbacks cannot be underscored. Slightly stepping the wrong way, pointing toes, skittish hops, and not planting properly could lead to miscues in the passing game, even interceptions, of which Maye through seven a year ago versus 38 touchdowns. It’s also how a quarterback uses his feet in RPO situations, roll outs – there’s a pace to it – and so much more.

And with Lindsey adding some QB drops to the playbook, add that as well. So not only was Lindsey tasked with helping Maye and UNC’s other quarterbacks improve their footwork and other aspects of their games, but mesh into the needs associated with running his offense, which carries many similarities to Longo’s air raid system.

“I think Coach Lindsey, the best thing about him from all five of us in the room, he wants the same footwork and the same drop on each play,” Maye said. “So, he’s hard on us, and he lets us feel it out on a play - all five in the room – for the best footwork on that play. And if he doesn’t see that footwork on that play, he’s going to get on you. And I think that’s the best thing about being coachable and him getting on me.

“I don’t do everything right. I don’t plan on doing everything right this season. So, we’re going to have some mistakes and stuff to clean up, and I think he’s going to do a good job staying hard on me and keeping me honest.”

That brings Maye back to his mission set just weeks after the loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl: Footwork.

He completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,321 yards, plus Maye led the Tar Heels in rushing with 698 yards while scoring seven touchdowns. Perhaps even better numbers are coming this fall for one of the nation’s leading Heisman Trophy candidates.

“I’m satisfied with my work this offseason,” he said. “And I felt like I put in the work footwork-wise to make a difference, and hopefully it pays off.”

If it does, maybe Maye will creep even closer to his desired perfection.