Mack Brown evaluates Drake Maye's play in Week 1 win over South Carolina
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye lived up to his Heisman Trophy and NFL prospect hype this weekend helping lead the Tar Heels to a dominant 31-17 victory over South Carolina to start off the college football season.
Maye gave the Gamecocks’ defense fits all night, and following the game, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown evaluated the performance of his star quarterback.
“I thought Drake played great, he probably will have to look at it, he had a lot of pressure and he probably forced two balls,” Brown said.
Maye did throw two interceptions Saturday night’s game on back-to-back drives in the second half. But outside of those throws, he had a near-flawless performance at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, completing 75% of his passes for 269 yards and two touchdown passes.
“But you know what, he made a throw to John Copenhaver for a touchdown that he was on his back. He made another throw to Bryson Nesbit with somebody hitting him right in the chest when he threw it. So if you’re gonna make those throws and you say no no no, great job Drake,” Brown said. “Then you can’t say that when he gets one intercepted.”
Maye made numerous highlight reel-worthy, NFL-level throws in Saturday’s game that were dazzling. But according to Brown, his young quarterback will likely harp and focus in on the mistakes he made over the highlights in an effort to continue to improve his game.
“But I thought he played great, he’ll be so hard on himself because all he’ll think about is the two interceptions, he won’t think about all the other things he did. But I thought for three quarters he handled the game as good as anybody could ever handle it,” Brown concluded.
Between Maye’s ability to elevate North Carolina’s offense and make impressive plays along with the impressive performance from the Tar Heels’ defensive line, UNC could be a force to be reckoned with in the ACC and beyond this season.
The quarterback matchup was one of the biggest storylines of the game with Spencer Rattler under center for the Gamecocks. But the Tar Heels pass rush didn’t let Rattler get comfortable at all, notching nine sacks on the night and keeping Rattler out of the end zone through the air and the ground.
Maye and the Tar Heels square off with Appalachian State in a rematch of one of last year’s most exciting shootouts, which kicks off this Saturday at 5:15 p.m. ET in a game airing on ACC Network.