Carolina won’t win the national championship this season, but Saturday night’s celebrations sure made it seem like the Tar Heels had won something bigger than a regular-season game. Immediately after Duke’s two-point pass sailed out of the back of the end zone, players and students flooded the Kenan Stadium turf to celebrate.
The ACC Network somehow found UNC head coach Mack Brown amid the chaos, and the Hall of Famer had to fight back tears during his on-field interview.
“You want your kids to feel good about themselves, and these kids did that tonight,” a choked-up Brown said. “This win will do so much for us.”
Brown was more composed during his postgame press conference, but did own up to being a more emotional person that he lets on. He described the locker room atmosphere as a jubilant one, and said he told the team to take lessons from Saturday with them for the rest of their lives.
“To see them in that locker room, that’s why you coach,” he said. “You coach because you want the kids to feel great about themselves. And I told them this is something they can use as a father when they’re having struggles with their family. They’re having trouble with their kids, they’re having wife troubles, somebody’s sick and it looks really bad. And they can step up. This shows them, ‘You can do something when it looks like you can’t.’”
What is the social equivalent of being down three with 41 seconds left and two timeouts? Who’s to say.
Linebacker Cedric Gray was one of the many Tar Heels celebrating their Senior Night on Saturday, and unlike many of those players Gray has confirmed this will be his last season in Chapel Hill. Brown has lauded Gray for the better part of two seasons as being the heartbeat of the team and a true leader.
Gray told reporters he immediately sprinted toward the Victory Bell on the other side of the field after the final play and so wasn’t around to see or hear Brown’s teary interview, but also said he wasn’t surprised to learn his head coach let it all out on national TV.
“Emotions were everywhere,” Gray said. “Everybody was very emotional. But speaking of Mack, one of his biggest things is sending the seniors off right. And we were able to accomplish that tonight in a pretty crazy fashion. I’m just extremely happy. I couldn’t ask for a better ending in Kenan Stadium.”
Speaking of endings, it’s assumed among Carolina circles Saturday was the final home game for quarterback Drake Maye. Maye is only a redshirt sophomore, but as this is his third college season, he is eligible to enter the NFL Draft this spring. Some boards have Maye as the projected No. 1 overall pick.
Before Saturday’s game, Maye deferred any questions about his future. He didn’t participate in Carolina’s Senior Day ceremonies before kickoff. But asked afterward how he would feel if this was indeed his final UNC home game, Maye certainly sounded like someone saying his goodbyes.
“Just a fairy-tale ending,” said Maye. “I’m glad it ended this way. I would’ve been heartbroken if it went the other way. No better way: against a rival, the fans storming the field, Senior Night, a lot of emotions. This is what I came to Carolina for: playing these big-time games and trying to do my best to help us win. Just a dream come true playing quarterback here.”
Seems like Maye is more likely to be in Chicago or Foxboro next fall than Chapel Hill. He ended the night with three total touchdowns and 342 passing yards in his likely home swan song, and is now 2-0 against Duke as a starter.
So the Victory Bell stays at UNC for another season, even if the winning quarterback doesn’t. And while Maye, Gray and others are moving on to greener and richer pastures, the memory of Saturday night’s twists and turns will always be lingering around the Kenan Stadium confines.
It was, as the kids say, a Great Day to be a Tar Heel.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
No doubt it was a fairy tail ending for Maye, the seniors, the underclassmen, etc…How about Mack using this game as a springboard to eventual retirement, traveling, spending more time with family, etc… We could hire Jimbo Fisher to study under Mack for a brief time and then take over when Mack retires! We can pay whatever he asks, but with a $76 million buyout, he might coach for the pure enjoyment of it. It wouldn’t hurt to reach out to him. He had an amazing winning percentage as a head coach. And I’ll bet Mack knows him well and could lure him here.