Drake Maye is taking his talents to the pros.

The decorated UNC quarterback officially declared for the 2024 NFL Draft on Monday. He will not play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against West Virginia on December 27.

Though Maye only started two seasons for Carolina, he leaves Chapel Hill as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in school history. His 4,321 passing yards as a redshirt freshman in 2022 is comfortably the highest single-season total for a Tar Heel quarterback, with his 3,608-yard 2023 season ranking fourth. Maye’s career total of 8,018 yards ranks fifth, behind only Bryn Renner (8,221), Darian Durant (8,755), T.J. Yates (9,377) and Maye’s predecessor, Sam Howell (10,283). Maye also accounts for two of UNC’s top 10 single-game passing yard totals, with his career high of 448 against Wake Forest in 2022 ranking fourth.

Maye also ranks fourth in program history in passing touchdowns with 63. His 38 touchdowns in 2022 tied him for the school record with Sam Howell’s 2019 campaign. Maye and Howell are also the only Tar Heel quarterbacks to ever post three games with at least five touchdown passes.

Maye won numerous accolades for his 2022 season, including being named the ACC Rookie of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year. He became the first Tar Heel since Lawrence Taylor to win ACC Player of the Year honors. In addition, Maye took home the nationwide Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. He was a finalist for the Manning Award (honoring the best quarterback in the country) and a semifinalist for the Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards (honoring the national player of the year).

Maye is seen by many to be one of the top NFL prospects in the country, with some draft boards projecting to be the No. 1 overall pick. UNC has never had a No. 1 overall pick in football, though several Tar Heels have gone No. 2 overall, including Taylor and Julius Peppers.

With Maye out of the picture, second-string quarterback Conner Harrell is in line to start the bowl game.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward

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