Maye back to UNC: ‘Could never leave this place’

Quarterback Drake Maye, thought of one of many high prospects in faculty soccer coming into the 2023 season, introduced Wednesday evening on social media that he’ll be taking part in his junior 12 months at North Carolina.

“Might by no means depart this place, I am a Tar Heel,” he wrote on Twitter, punctuating his announcement with a handshake emoji.

Maye led North Carolina to a 9-4 document and threw for 4,115 yards, the third highest complete within the nation. He led UNC to the ACC championship recreation, and alongside the way in which established himself as a high-end NFL draft prospect.

There have been studies that Maye could possibly be coming into the switch portal this week, however that prospect all the time loomed as unlikely. Maye’s household ties to the college embody a father who’s a former UNC beginning quarterback, a brother who hit one of many iconic basketball pictures at school historical past, and one other brother, his roommate Beau, who’s a walk-on member of the UNC basketball group.

Maye is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound quarterback who as a redshirt freshman blew away scouts in his first season as a starter. He flipped from Alabama in recruiting and has the potential to be the college’s first-ever No. 1 draft decide.

Maye and USC’s Caleb Williams would be the consensus favorites to go No. 1 within the 2024 NFL draft, and the competitors for that high spot from two totally different coasts might be one of many sport’s defining storylines of 2023.

Maye completed the 2022 season with 35 landing passes, seven speeding touchdowns and simply seven interceptions. He additionally impressed scouts together with his calm presence, as his poise, polish and arm energy loomed as defining traits.

Maye’s announcement got here just a few hours after information broke that UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo is leaving for Wisconsin. That departure might find yourself helpful for Maye’s long-term NFL growth, as Longo’s unfold system, based mostly on tempo, is not seen as a perfect incubator for the NFL.

Count on Maye to have a voice in who will get employed subsequent because the Tar Heels’ offensive coordinator, as his NFL growth will probably loom as a consider who UNC hires.