4-star QB Drake Maye flips from Alabama, commits to UNC

Mack Brown has flipped another high-profile in-state quarterback. Less than 72 hours after UNC received a commitment from 5-star defensive end Keeshawn Silver, the Heels just added their first flipped recruit of the cycle. On Friday afternoon, former Alabama-commit Drake Maye switched his pledge from the Tide to the good guys. If that name seems familiar, there is good reason. Drake Maye is the younger brother of Tar Heel basketball legend, Luke. His father, Mark, was the starting quarterback at UNC in the mid-80’s before a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The announcement came via Drake Maye’s Twitter account this afternoon:

A consensus four-star recruit, Maye is the top quarterback in the state of North Carolina for 2021. Rivals, ESPN, and 247Sports are also all in agreement that Maye is a top-10 quarterback in the country, with an increasing upward trajectory since his junior season concluded. Here’s a compilation of how the various services currently view the rising senior. It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of Maye’s commitment and the optics of flipping from Nick Saban’s perennial national title contender in Tuscaloosa.

Rivals: QB, 4-stars, #124 (national), #8 (position), #8 (state)
ESPN: QB, 4-stars, #45 (national), #9 (position), #4 (state)
247 Sports (organic): QB, 4-stars, #32 (national), #3 (position), #1 (state)
247 Sports (composite): QB, 4-stars, #56 (national), #6 (position), #3 (state)

As a junior at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, Maye put up the stats one would expect from a top-prospect. He finished the season with 3,512 passing yards, 50 touchdowns, and just 2 interceptions while completing 72.4% of his passes. In two years a starter, Maye has accumulated 6,713 yards on a 68.5% completion rate, 86 TDs, and 7 INTs. It’ll be fun to see how he improves those numbers next season.

The 6-4, 230-pound prospect continues the string of recent high-profile commitments at the most important position on the field. After struggling through 2017 and 2018 because of lackluster quarterback play, and barring another change heart by the signal caller, the Heels are on track to reel off three straight classes with a nationally ranked top-10 quarterback. Jace Ruder, Sam Howell (who flipped from Florida State on Signing Day in December 2018), Jacolby Criswell, and Drake Maye is certainly one helluva quarterbacks room.

Maye is UNC’s seventh overall recruit and their only QB commit for 2021. All seven recruits are from North Carolina. Five of them —Keeshawn Silver, Power Echols, Dontavius Nash, Gabe Stephens, and Maye – are all currently rated inside the ESPN300 rankings. UNC also now hold commitments from six of the top-15 in-state prospects according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Not bad for an old grandpa.

Go Heels.