The votes are in! North Carolina Tar Heels starting quarterback Drake Maye has not only been voted to the All-ACC team but also voted ACC Preseason Player of the Year! Maye received half the votes with 88 of the 176 voters choosing him as their Player of the Year.
What Maye Brings
Maye is the ultimate dual-threat quarterback. It’s been overlooked, but Maye is coming off one of the greatest freshman seasons by a quarterback of all time. Only one other player in ACC history (Florida State’s Jameis Winston) has ever been voted the conference’s top player, top offensive player, top rookie, and top offensive rookie all in the same season.
When you zoom in on his numbers they reflect what most people saw on the field last season. In 14 games, he threw for a preposterous 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions. All of this was good for a quarterback rating of 157.9. His passing alone would have put him in the conversation for the greatest freshman of all time, but, to the delight of Tar Heel fans, that’s only half the story.
On the ground, Maye dissected defenses adding another threat defenses have to worry about. Maye ran for 698 yards and 7 touchdowns. His ability to run not only helps the offense with the extra yards he gains but also because it creates wider passing lanes for him to throw into.
His Competition
Other players receiving votes for ACC Player of the Year were Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis and Clemson running back Will Shipley. While the Tar Heels do not play Florida State this season (they could in the ACC Championship), Maye will get a chance to show his chops against Shipley and the Clemson Tigers. The Tar Heels will be looking for a bit of revenge when they head to Clemson in November. The Tigers walloped the Tar Heels 39-10 in Chapel Hill last season.
2023 is shaping up to be a new season, however. With exciting recruits and transfers incoming, Maye will look to help the Tar Heels put the ACC on notice with a sophomore season as excellent as his debut season. This is certainly the most hyped Tar Heels football season of the millennium.
