Following Sam Howell, Drake Maye on pace for record-setting season with UNC football

Drake Maye knew he wasn’t going to challenge Sam Howell for North Carolina’s starting quarterback spot last season. But he internalized the message Howell used to always tell him.

When you get your shot, make the most of it.

Maye has done that and then some through four games as he threatens to erase all the freshman passing records Howell set just three years ago.

Through Howell’s first four games, he’d thrown nine touchdowns and had two interceptions.

Maye this year is tied with Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud for the lead nationally with 16 touchdown passes and has only thrown one pick. He’s made playing quarterback as a redshirt freshman look way easier than it really is.

“I kind of expect this for myself. It goes with confidence,” Maye said. “But at the same time, the guys around me, I think they’ve done a great job of helping me look like I’ve been a good player.”

▪ Maye’s already duplicated Howell’s freshman school record of five touchdown passes in a game — twice — against Appalachian State and again in last Saturday’s loss against Notre Dame.

▪ He’s thrown for more yards (1,231 to Howell’s 1,024) to this point and will have to keep this pace to beat Howell’s freshman school record of 3,641 passing yards in the regular season.

▪ Maye’s also on pace to beat Howell’s UNC record for freshman passing touchdowns (38).

Although Maye is making it look easy, he’s stayed even-keeled through his hot start.

“College football, it’s tough, especially as a quarterback,” Maye said. “Any given Saturday, you gotta go out there and you gotta bring it all. I think the main thing about playing quarterback is just mental. It’s a mental game.”

He’s only thrown one interception, but even that play should have gone his way. UNC coach Mack Brown said the team submitted the play to the ACC league office, which confirmed defensive pass interference should have been called against Georgia State.

“Drake, he’s a special kid and his arm talent is pretty good,” UNC senior receiver Antoine Green said. ”And he’s accurate as well. He makes a lot of different throws that I haven’t seen nobody make. The ceiling is very high for him.”

That Maye could possibly best Howell’s freshman season comes as no surprise to Brown. He said quarterbacks in today’s game are more developed when they reach college thanks in large part to 7-on-7 skill camps.

Both Howell and Maye also had an advantage due to their pedigree. Maye, of course, is the son of former UNC quarterback Mark Maye.

“You take a guy like Sam, he was raised by his dad, who’s a coach,” Brown said. “Take a guy like Drake, his dad was the leading passer in the ACC, so he was teaching him at a very early age to throw the ball and what to think about, and they’ve watched so many football games together.”

UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo pointed out that watching Howell last season also helped Maye and backup Jacolby Criswell. Howell didn’t have the luxury of playing behind a veteran — he had to start immediately.

Longo said Maye was doing a good job from a mental standpoint of being able to identify and make the right calls for line protection and in the run game.

Carolina has only allowed nine sacks so far — at this point last season it had given up 17. That has also helped Maye getting the ball out faster.

“Certain areas of our game are benefiting right now with Drake,” Longo said. “We were a good third-down team last year; we’re even better this year.”

The Tar Heels rank ninth nationally in third-down conversions, making good on them 52.8% of the time. Last season, they converted 43.3% of those tries.

Carolina has essentially been perfect in converting red-zone trips into touchdowns. The stats show the Heels have converted on 13 of 14 trips, but the lone time they didn’t score was when they chose to run the clock out at the end of their 56-24 win over Florida A&M.

UNC scored just 28 touchdowns on 49 red zone trips last season.

“Can I credit Drake and only Drake with all the offensive improvements? No,” Longo said. “But he touches the football every down and he certainly is a part of that stuff. And so I think he has — especially in the redzone — a lot to do with with our overall improvement.”

Maye is the reason why the Heels believe they can win any game.

“He gives us a chance,” Brown said, “because we can score points offensively to be in every game and never be out of a game.”