North Carolina QB Drake Maye is heading to the NFL.
The redshirt sophomore announced Monday that he won’t play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and will declare for the 2024 NFL draft. Maye and USC’s Caleb Williams are considered the top two quarterbacks in the draft class and could be chosen with the top two picks this spring.
"Thank you Coach [Mack] Brown, for the opportunity to live out my dream of playing quarterback in Carolina Blue," Maye said in his statement. "To the rest of the coaching staff and support staff, thank you for the countless hours of helping me along the way."
Maye has been North Carolina’s starting quarterback for the past two seasons after appearing in four games during 2021. He was immediately one of the best quarterbacks in college football in 2022 as he was 342-of-517 passing for 4,321 yards and 38 TDs with seven interceptions.
This season, Maye is 269-of-425 passing for 3,608 yards and 24 TDs to nine interceptions. He’s also been a rushing threat; Maye rushed for 698 yards and seven scores in 2022 and for 449 yards and nine TDs in 2023.