UNC Football: Drake Maye joins elite quarterback company

With his impressive performance on Saturday afternoon, UNC football star Drake Maye accomplished something that only a few Tar Heels have done prior.

For the first time this season, the UNC football program relied on the passing game to win, as Drake Maye led the attack through the air in the team’s victory over Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.

The Tar Heels star quarterback completed 29 of 40 passes for 414 yards and two scores, as the presence of Nate McCollum proved to be an immediate game-changer for Maye and North Carolina’s offense.

This contest marks the second time that Maye has thrown for over 400 yards in a single game. It’s also the first time that he was able to accomplish the feat in front of the home crowd at Kenan Stadium.

Maye has also joined some elite UNC football company, as he became just the fifth Tar Heels quarterback ever to record two 400+ yard passing games.

The list of former Tar Heels who have accomplished this goal is rather impressive, as you can easily make the case that the signal-callers listed are among (if not near the top) of the program’s all-time list. Players like Marquise Williams, T.J. Yates, Mitch Trubisky, and Sam Howell have paved the way, as Maye now joins them in this impressive group.

Not only did Maye make history with his second 400+ yard passing game, but he also moved up the UNC football program’s all-time passing leaderboard. He surpassed Ronald Curry for sixth on the all-time list, as he now looks to catch Williams to crack the top five (he’ll need exactly 2,665 yards to do so!).

The Tar Heels’ current star quarterback also surpassed Trubisky for sixth all-time on the program’s career passing touchdown list. Next up is Yates, who Maye is 15 touchdown passes away from tying.

Maye continues to solidify himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in UNC football history, as Saturday’s performance is simply another reminder of how good he really is at what he does.

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