UNC legacy exploring offers, visiting national powers
Drake Maye is one of the top signal callers in the 2021 class. The 6-foot-4, 195 pound sophomore at Charlotte (NC) Myers Park has a long list of offers and he is being courted by many of the top programs in the country.
He has some very strong ties to Chapel Hill, so all are up against family connections to the North Carolina Tar Heels. Maye is giving each school a fair shot though. He was at Tennessee last weekend and he is visiting Alabama Thursday.
A decision could come as early as this fall.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
"I was at Tennessee Saturday and that was my third time there. I was at a game in the fall, I visited last summer and I love how it is a football school. They have great fans, they have great coaches and I like the guys there. I really like coach Weinke and we have been talking a good bit.
"This will be my first time visiting Alabama and it is the best football program in the country, so I am excited about getting over there. I have been talking with coach Steve Sarkisian and I am looking forward to getting over, speaking with him and seeing what it is like. I know it will be nice.
"I have visited Ohio State a couple of times. I was at a game in the fall, then my brother played a game in Columbus during March Madness, so I stopped by for a visit. Coach Ryan Day is a an offensive mind, a great offensive coach and I like what he does as a head coach. That is another program I like a lot.
"I have visited UNC too many times to count. My parents went there, my brother [Luke Maye] goes there and I really like coach Mack Brown a lot. I will be there Saturday for the spring game and I have been talking to coach Phil Longo a lot too. He is an offensive coach that likes to throw the ball around, so I like that as a quarterback.
"I am a basketball player inside. I do love basketball, but as football goes on, it is getting easier and easier to give it up. I love football too, but basketball has been in my heart for a long time.
"Luke has just told me to get better every day. He said not to worry about recruiting, but to work on your craft, just to get better and to enjoy the process.
"I am looking for a good offensive scheme to play in and a chance to play early. I want to go in, fight for a job and find a scheme I can do well in and one that will prepare me for the next level.
"I am leaving things open right now. I am taking visits and I am building relationships right now. It is too early for me to have a leader or anything like that. As a quarterback, I am looking to make a decision maybe a little early, but I don't have top schools yet. At the earliest, I could commit during my junior season, but by the end of my junior year, I will be committed. I would say by this time next year, I will be committed."
RIVALS REACTION
Maye is very talented. Not only does he have size, good mobility and arm strength, but he has natural leadership, he has fun playing the game and he has an infectious personality that others want to be around and play for. He checks a lot of boxes at the quarterback position and he is on his way to being a national name in the 2021 class. In recruiting, will anyone be able to beat North Carolina? With the strong ties to that school, it will be difficult. If Brown comes in, wins some games and has that program heading in the right direction, this UNC legacy could be tough to get out of North Carolina. Some major programs are definitely trying though, and they will all the way until Maye puts the pen to the paper. He is that good.