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Pete ThamelESPN
Six months ago, North Carolina redshirt freshman quarterback Drake May wasn’t sure if he would win the rookie job at school. Since then, he’s become one of the NFL’s top draft picks for 2024 and the unwitting face of the free market that has emerged in college football.
In an interview with ESPN on Thursday, Maye reflected on the past few weeks, which included a social media post stating that he was staying at UNC in order to combat rumors that he would enter the transfer portal. Pittsburgh Coach Pat Narduzzi fanned the flames by saying this week that two schools offered Maye $5 million for the transfer.
“Those rumors weren’t really reality,” he told ESPN. He added: “Pitt terminated the coach. I don’t know what it was about. You have to enter the transfer portal to talk to these schools and hear these offers. For me, I think the college football is going to spin. They’re going to have to do something. There was nothing to me or my family directly offered by any of these other schools. Nothing was said or offered to the Mayes.
Maye threw for 4,115 yards and 35 touchdowns this year, leading UNC (9-4) to an appearance in the ACC title game and holiday bowI bid.
Following that breakout season, UNC coach Mack Brown (“big money”) and Narduzzi publicly indicated that Maye had significant offers from other schools. No one named the schools, but Brown insinuated that these were the schools that typically appear in recruiting rankings.
Maye agreed to a NIL deal with UNC’s Heels4Life program and denies that he and his family received offers directly from other schools.
Maye added that he only heard of outside interest “through the grapevine.” He said: “Some people were texting my high school coach about it. That’s mostly what happened, people contacted some of my reps and NIL media.”
The de Maye family has deep roots on the UNC campus. Both of her parents graduated from there and her brother, Luke, hit one of the most famous shots in UNC basketball history in 2017. Drake Maye bedrooms with another brother, beautifulwho is a UNC basketball walker.
Maye grew up loving UNC and said no other school could give her “the same heart-pounding feeling” as UNC.
“It wouldn’t work, especially with all my family…” he said. “Changing it after everything the Mayes went through wouldn’t represent what college means to me or what it means to me to go there. It would ruin the mojo and everything we built there. That Carolina blue is special. There is no other color in the world that makes sense.”
Maye’s father, Mark Maye, is a former UNC quarterback and worked for UNC football under Mack Brown during his first term at the school. Mark Maye said the family never talked about Drake leaving UNC, despite “lots of rumors” that his son would enter the NCAA transfer portal.
“North Carolina was where he wanted to be,” Mark Maye told ESPN. “He never said anything, ever, about wanting to see what’s going on or anything like that.”
Maye’s NIL deal with UNC’s Heels4Life program includes monetary incentives and is also expected to have a charitable component. Maye said he has worked locally with Ronald McDonald House and Table NC, which provides healthy food to local children. He has an interest in doing charity work in his native Charlotte area.
Graham Boone, the executive director of Heels4Life, said Maye pointed out to him that offers would be available for his teammates. He said the deal with Le Maye was “not a negotiation” but rather an “offer of our committed support for him”.
“We stepped in to make sure UNC was the best place for him,” Boone said. “We wanted to make sure he had no interest in going anywhere else. As Coach Brown said, he turned down a lot of money [elsewhere]. That’s not to say Heels4Life didn’t step in with a very, very fair amount.”
Maye said his affinity for UNC won out.
“Unfortunately, I think money is becoming a reason why kids go elsewhere,” he said. “Where I play at and with and for Coach Brown, just that the Carolina blue wins over the money part. I don’t think any amount of money from any school [would sway me]. Nowadays, people sign for NIL. This puts a lot of pressure on these children. If I had to transfer and go somewhere, it wouldn’t be the same.”
Maye’s return to UNC will mean one of the most high-profile seasons in years as he has a shot at becoming the program’s first No. 1. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. It is expected that there will be a one-season debate in 2023 between May and May USC Caleb Williamsthe return Heisman Trophy winnerfor first place in the 2024 NFL Draft.
For now, recognizing the potential fluidity of the roster, UNC plans to fire 17 of the 22 starters. For Boone and Heels4Life, they see retaining Maye and making offers to teammates as a way to capitalize on the momentum. He pointed out that UNC has “been on the verge” of being a national program several times in history. “Drake represents renewed interest from our fans,” he said, “that we can take that last step.”
Maye told ESPN that Brown made him an active part of UNC’s search for a new offensive coordinator after Phil Longo left Chapel Hill for Wisconsin. A C drew UCF offensive coordinator Chip Lindseyand Maye said he had had zooms or phone calls with several finalists for the job.
He said Lindsey would likely bring aspects of UCF’s running game, which should help bolster the effectiveness of UNC’s red zone. (UNC ranks No. 58 in the FBS in red-zone touchdowns.) He’s thrilled that Lindsey worked to develop NFL quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens in previous stops at Auburn and Miss South.
“It’s been great getting to know him,” Maye said. “He looks awesome.”
Maye took to Instagram in early December announcing his return, a way he said was to counter “rumors and speculation” about his departure. Summarizing the past month, he chuckled.
“Really, there hasn’t been much of a drop,” he said. There was speculation and an Instagram post and a head coach said [I] refused this sum of money which I had never heard of. That’s basically the point.”
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