The North Carolina Tar Heels have had one of the most prolific offenses in college football this season, and much of that success has come from the emergence of sophomore quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye has had a terrific 2022-23 campaign, finishing the regular season with 4,115 passing yards, 35 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He’s also been a threat as a runner, with 653 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns on the year.
There are high hopes for Maye’s upcoming junior year, but some rumors suggested that he may enter the transfer portal after the program received some devastating news on Wednesday.
The Tar Heels lost their offensive coordinator Phil Longo, who will be headed to Wisconsin to join new head coach Luke Fickell’s staff next season.
SOURCE: Phil Longo is leaving UNC to go to Wisconsin to become the Badgers OC. He had a prolific offense in Chapel Hill and helped develop Drake Maye into a star this year. He's had a strong relationship with Luke Fickell for awhile and he interviewed for the Cincy OC before.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 7, 2022
This is a huge blow for North Carolina, but Maye dispelled ay rumors that he’ll be leaving the program following this departure on Wednesday.
In a social media post, Maye revealed that he’ll be coming back to UNC next year.
“Could never leave this place, I’m a Tar Heel,” Maye captioned a picture of him wearing a UNC jersey.
Could never leave this place, I’m a Tar Heel🤝 pic.twitter.com/0eWWA9Rk3o
— Drake Maye (@DrakeMaye2) December 8, 2022
This decision isn’t all that surprising when you considering Maye’s family lineage throughout the history of North Carolina athletics.
Drake’s brother, Luke Maye, was a standout basketball star for the UNC program from 2015-2018, perhaps most well known for hitting a game-winning shot for the team in the NCAA Tournament against No. 2 Kentucky in 2017. His dad also went to UNC, playing quarterback for the school from 1983-1987.
It seems like the Maye family are Tar Heels through and through, and Maye will be one of the main names in the Heisman Trophy watch in the 2023 college football season.
