CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Phil Longo met with the media Monday at the Kenan Football Center in advance of the Tar Heels’ game Saturday at Virginia to field questions about his unit and the Cavaliers.

One of the big topics was quarterback Drake Maye, his high-level throws, if Longo is surprised by how effective Maye has performed, how he is helping recruiting, and more. Plus, Longo discussed a few other aspects of his offense, if the second half versus Pitt was a template moving forward, and about what UVA does well on defense.

The No. 17 Tar Heels (7-1 overall, 4-0 ACC) and Wahoos (3-5, 1-4) kick at noon Saturday, and the game will air on the ACC Network.

Above is video of Longo’s presser, and below are some notes and a few pulled quotes from what he had to say:

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*It isn’t any secret that Drake Maye is having an incredible year. He is among the nation’s leaders in all positive things related to quarterbacks, and has entered into the Heisman conversation. Yet, Longo isn’t really surprised by how Maye has played thus far.

“I’m not surprised he’s playing well because he’s been here a while, so you have a chance to really evaluate a guy,” Longo said. “Because we give so many equal reps to all the quarterbacks, we’ve seen a lot of Jacolby (Criswell) and Drake even when Sam (Howell) was here.”

*Longo said when he watched Maye play in high school, he couldn’t understand why he was listed as a pro-style quarterback.

“I’m thinking back to when we were recruiting him and I went and watched him in the regular season; I watched him play live,” Longo said. “And he was always listed as a pro-style quarterback, and the first thing that I noticed when I saw him live, and I’ve said this numerous times, I was very impressed with his mobility.

“And I didn’t think anybody really gave him enough credit for how well he throws on the run, and how he extends plays with his athletic ability. To me, he can make all the throws on the field, he’s really, really good mentally, and the competitive aspect of Drake helps him. And you add the fact that he can extend plays and do some of those things.

“Can you ever predict somebody’s going to be as prolific as he’s been? No. You hope they all play that way. But there’s no limitations in the resources that Drake has that would make you feel like he couldn’t do some of the things he’s doing.”

*When recruiting quarterbacks that play other sports, Longo wants to see them in those sports. So, he and Dre’ Bly watched Maye play in a high school basketball game, and they got something out of it despite not being a competitive game.

“It was 52-7 at the half,” Longo said, chuckling. “I picked the worst possible game to go watch… Drake didn’t play in the second half. He drained just about everything he shot. It was like I went to just watch him warm up, really.

“But I did watch him play, I know he’s very good. I’m not on the basketball staff, but I suspect he could probably play basketball here. But when your players or teammates have the level of respect for somebody; if you talk to somebody here who’s played with or seen Drake play basketball, they rave about how good he is.”

*What does Longo look for when watching a guy who plays basketball, as so many HS QBs do?

“It is good because you can see his feet, you can see his hands,” Longo said. “Sometimes in basketball, you can see ho twitchy they are. Usually, if I go see a quarterback play basketball, I like to watch the athleticism, the eye-hand coordination with his shooting ability. I always like to watch them on defense.

“I’m just curious as to how mentally tough they are and aggressive they’re going to be defensively.”

*Staying on Maye, Longo said when he committed to Alabama, head coach Mack Brown wasn’t really fazed.

“I think he was born to play at North Carolina,” Longo said. “Mack told him so, I told him so…

“And when he called Coach Brown about committing to Alabama, coach said, ‘That’s fine, we’re going to keep recruiting you. And oh by the way, you’re going to be coming to North Carolina.’”

*Regarding Virginia, the Hoos are struggling to win games, but that’s because their offense has been among the worst in the nation. But the defense has been pretty good. UVA is ranked No. 31 in total defense allowing 340 yards per game, and are also 31st in scoring defense allowing an average of 21.5 points per contest.

“They’re very good defensively, they play well together,” Longo said. “Some of that’s coach speak, but they do. They fit the run together. They play a multiple coverages now. They will play some man, they’ll play some zone, they’re gonna be in two-high, some one-high. Different from three of the last four games, they’re gonna show us a different picture from a coverage standpoint.”