CHAPEL HILL – Peeling back a layer or two from Nate McCollum’s performance last season at Georgia Tech reveals a player who performed at an exceptionally high level.

Not only did he catch 60 passes for 655 yards and three touchdowns on a team whose coach was fired at mid-season, but also with three different starting quarterbacks, none of whom distinguished himself as a front-line starter, and each of whom were quite different from the others.

Now, McCollum is in a situation at North Carolina that is as stable as anywhere in the nation at quarterback. A possible Heisman Trophy winner and top pick in next year’s NFL Draft is tossing darts his way. It’s a significant step up.

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“Of course, it’s a sigh of relief, but every game you still have to go out there and perform,” McCollum said about running routes and catching passes from UNC quarterback Drake Maye. “So, I wouldn’t say it’s going to be easier, because you never know how it’s going to go.”

McCollum’s 60 receptions last fall ranked fifth in the ACC, and he also had three 100-yard performances. It should be noted McCollum did this in 11 games, as he actually missed the Yellow Jackets’ win at Carolina in November.

He grabbed at least five passes in nine of 11 games, had plays that went for 20 or more yards in six contests, and 15 or more yards in 10 games. McCollum even had a 40-yard touchdown run from scrimmage.

Furthermore, McCollum returned seven punts last fall, one that went 29 yards, and he even returned a kickoff.

Perhaps he has a role in the return game this fall for the Tar Heels, but he was mainly brought in to enhance the wide receiver room. His draw to Chapel Hill was predictably the immense talent at QB, given the situation at Tech last season, UNC’s talent on offense was as well.

“Being part of this offense,” he said. “They have such a great history of throwing the ball.”

As soon as McCollum entered the transfer portal in December, a bunch of schools reached out to him expressing interest. One was North Carolina.

“It was pretty fast,” McCollum said, noting the Tar Heels almost immediately contacted him.

A native of McDonough, GA, and also a star baseball player in high school, one can almost see a resemblance to Willie Mays making an over-the-shoulder catch in centerfield when seeing McCollum racing down the sideline tracking one of Maye’s passes.

The process in meshing with Maye started in January, and by the time Carolina was at the mid-point of spring practice, that connection had grown strong. And, he’s drawing comparisons to Josh Downs, UNC’s back-to-back 1,000-yard receiver from the last two seasons.

“Nate, he’s a route technician, he’s quick and twitchy like Josh,” Maye said. “He’s a nice addition.”

Again, more references to Downs when it comes to McCollum.

“Even though he was a slot at Georgia Tech, we feel like he can play all three positions,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said, later adding, “He’s got tremendous speed and hands, great ball skills, over a 3.0 (GPA) at Georgia Tech.”

Now, McCollum will exercise those traits running routes for one of the nation’s next quarterbacks, so there’s no telling how much he will produce.