UNC star QB Drake Maye announces intentions to enter 2024 NFL Draft
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye announced on Monday that he intends to forgo an additional season of eligibility and enter the 2024 NFL Draft.
One of the most naturally gifted and physically blessed QB prospects to enter this year’s class, Maye is a redshirt sophomore who started two seasons for the Tar Heels. Although his production wasn’t quite as prolific this season as it was in 2022, he’s a big-bodied, athletic thrower who can make plays inside or outside of the pocket, although he’s occasionally guilty of some reckless play.
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— Drake Maye (@DrakeMaye2) December 11, 2023
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Maye, who turns 22 years old in August, saw action as a true freshman in 2021 behind then-UNC starter and current Commanders QB Sam Howell. The following season, Maye won the starting job and turned in an incredible season with 4,321 passing yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions and 698 rushing yards and seven rushing scores.
Maye tailed off a bit at the end of his redshirt freshman season, and his 2023 numbers weren’t quite as eye-popping. He started every game for the Tar Heels this season, throwing for 3,608 yards, 24 TDs and nine picks and ran for 449 yards and nine more scores.
Maye’s game compares somewhat favorably to the Chargers’ Justin Herbert, with both able to shrug off hits, spray the ball all over the field and throw on the move.
Athletics run deep in the Maye family. His father, Mark, was a quarterback for the Tar Heels from 1983 to 1987, starting for two seasons and being named co-captain as a senior.
Drake’s brothers also have made their name in college athletics, with Luke (part of the 2017 national championship team) and Beau both playing basketball at UNC. A third brother, Cole, was a left-handed pitcher at Florida and a member of the Gators’ 2017 national championship team.
