WATCH: Drake Maye connects with Gavin Blackwell for 4-yard touchdown pass against FAMU
Gavin Blackwell has established himself as a name to remember in the future for the North Carolina Tar Heels. The redshirt freshman receiver was dominant in fall camp for the ‘Heels and has turned plenty of heads recently. On Saturday night against Florida A&M, he hauled in his first touchdown catch, a 4-yard toss from Drake Maye.
The touchdown toss to Blackwell put the ‘Heels up 21-7 with less than eight minutes left in the 2nd quarter. It was also Drake Maye’s third touchdown pass of the first half. He did a nice job of eluding pressure and making an accurate throw across his body.
The Tar Heels are in a battle, and they lead the game 28-14 at halftime. The game is being televised on the ACC Network. Maye completed 19 of his 24 passes in the first half, while throwing for 177 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had over 200 all-purpose yards in the first half in his debut as a Tar Heel signal-caller.
The North Carolina native came into the program rated as a four-star player, the No. 8 quarterback, and the No. 3 player out of the state of North Carolina for the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Maye has some big shoes to fill following the departure of Sam Howell to the NFL. Howell totaled 10,283 passing yards and 92 touchdowns over three seasons with the program. Howell had a strong season in 2021, as he threw for 3,056 yards and 24 touchdowns to go along with 828 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground – a season in which Maye got to witness first-hand to see the standard Howell has set for UNC quarterbacks.
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown also recently noted that quarterback Jacolby Criswell will also see the field against Florida A&M on Saturday night. He called the quarterback race “very close” and also noted that both signal-callers could see the field for the ‘Heels this season.
Gavin Blackwell was a highly coveted star out of high school
Blackwell is a 5-foot-11 receiver out of Sun Valley (Indian Trail, North Carolina). He chose the ‘Heels coming out of high school over offers from Ohio State, Florida, Tennessee, and others. Just the fact that he got an offer from Ohio State should tell you how good he’s going to be. Few have developed receivers in college football the past few years quite like Brian Hartline has for the Buckeyes. In case that wasn’t enough, he dominated the first scrimmage and was all over the highlight tape.
On3’s Barkley Truax also contributed to this article.