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

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.

Related Stories
‹
Baltimore Ravens Take UNC WR Tez Walker in 4th Round of 2024 NFL Draft
After one season with the Tar Heels, Tez Walker is league-bound. The Baltimore Ravens selected Walker in fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon. Walker became the third Tar Heel to hear his name called in this year’s draft, after quarterback Drake Maye was selected No. 3 overall in the first round […]
UNC LB Cedric Gray Selected by Tennessee Titans in 2024 NFL Draft
The Tennessee Titans selected Tar Heel standout Cedric Gray in the fourth round of the NFL Draft with the 104th overall pick on Saturday.
UNC Quarterback Drake Maye Selected by New England Patriots in 1st Round of 2024 NFL Draft
Drake Maye has a new home. The New England Patriots selected the former UNC star quarterback and 2022 ACC Player of the Year with the No. 3 overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. It’s the highest a Tar Heel has gone in the draft since Mitch Trubisky was […]
UNC Football Ramping Up Intensity as Fall Training Camp Hits 1-Week Mark
Thursday morning marked one week of UNC’s fall training camp, and head coach Bill Belichick said the team has been steadily ramping up the intensity of its sessions. Wednesday was the Tar Heels’ first day of practice in pads, as the “acclimation period” portion of camp comes to an end. “The competition really starts this […]
UNC Defensive Coordinator Steve Belichick on Medical Leave, Father Bill Says
UNC defensive coordinator Steve Belichick is away from the program on medical leave, head coach Bill Belichick said Thursday at the Kenan Football Center. Steve Belichick had been scheduled to address the media last Thursday following the Tar Heels’ first practice of fall camp, but did not appear at the podium. Bill Belichick said the […]
Chansky's Notebook: The One Who Got Away
Mack Brown was a very good football coach. His father was a high school coach in Tennessee, and his older brother Watson preceded him into mid-major positions. The peripatetic Brown held nine assistant jobs and one as a head coach in 15 years before he was 35. That included being the athletic director at Tulane […]
Taking Advantage of Court Ruling, UNC Kicker Rece Verhoff Returns to Program
Kicker Rece Verhoff is returning to the UNC football program and plans to play in the 2026 season, taking advantage of a recent court ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney which granted a fifth year of eligibility to athletes who graduated high school in 2022. Welcome back Rece Verhoff pic.twitter.com/Fwk0Z4PeNB — Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) […]
Shaquille O'Neal Featured Among 2026 Performers for Chapel Thrill Concert Series
UNC has announced its setlist for the 2026 Chapel Thrill Concert Series. The series is part of the school’s “Chapel Thrill Game Day,” which debuted in 2025. The concerts are the centerpiece of the festivities, with the stage located on Polk Place in front of Wilson Library in the heart of the UNC campus. Each […]
Amid Cloud of Uncertainty, UNC Football Opens 2026 Fall Training Camp
UNC took the field in Chapel Hill Thursday morning to open its fall training camp. Despite prognostications of doom and a gamut of negative press, it appears the Tar Heels will, in fact, play football in 2026. The bizarre headlines trickling out of the Kenan Football Center had no doubt cast a pall over things: […]
Belichick Mum on Michael Lombardi Situation, While UNC Chancellor Vows Investigation Will 'Fix It'
UNC head coach Bill Belichick addressed the media at the Kenan Football Center as the Tar Heels opened their fall training camp Thursday morning. It was Belichick’s first public appearance since the university announced Monday that general manager Michael Lombardi was being put on paid administrative leave for what is being reported as an HR […]
›