Drake Maye

Drake Lee Maye (born August 30, 2002) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he was named the 2022 ACC Football Player of the Year after leading the NCAA in total yards and setting single-season school records in passing yards and touchdowns. Maye was selected third overall by the Patriots in the 2024 NFL draft.

Early life
Maye was born on August 30, 2002, in Huntersville, North Carolina. He attended William A. Hough High School in Cornelius, North Carolina, and transferred after his freshman year to Myers Park High School in Charlotte, where he played football and basketball. As a junior, he received All-Conference and All-District honors in basketball and was named The Charlotte Observer 2019 male athlete of the year after throwing for a school-record 3,512 yards and 50 touchdowns en route to a conference championship appearance. Maye was named a Under Armour All-American in 2020 despite being unable to play his senior season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rated a four-star prospect, Maye committed to play college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide in July 2019 before flipping to North Carolina in March 2020.

College career
As a redshirt in his freshman season for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Maye appeared in four games behind starter Sam Howell in 2021. With Howell leaving for the NFL in 2022, Maye was named the starter prior to the season. In the opening game against Florida A&M, Maye threw five touchdowns and became the first UNC quarterback to do so in his debut. Maye would also record games with four or more total touchdowns against Appalachian State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Wake Forest. He led the team to appearances in the 2022 ACC Championship Game and Holiday Bowl and was named the ACC Player of the Year after leading the NCAA in total offense with 5,019, passing for school-records 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns while rushing for 698 yards and 7 touchdowns.

In the 2023 season, Maye threw for over 400 yards against Syracuse, Miami, and Campbell. Maye was named second-team All-ACC after passing for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns while rushing for 449 yards and nine touchdowns. Maye declared for the 2024 NFL draft following the season. He finished his career fifth in passing yards (8,018) and fourth in passing touchdowns (63) in UNC history.

Professional career
Maye was selected by the New England Patriots as the third quarterback and third overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. He was part of a group of six quarterbacks taken in the first round, tying a record set in the 1983 draft. On May 28, 2024, Maye signed his rookie contract, a fully-guaranteed four-year deal worth $36.64 million, with a $23.47 million signing bonus.

Personal life
Maye's father Mark played quarterback at North Carolina (UNC) in the 1980s prior to playing briefly with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks. He is the youngest of four brothers: Luke and Beau played basketball at UNC, with the former landing a buzzer beater in the Elite Eight en route to winning the 2017 national championship. Another brother, Cole, was a pitcher on the Florida Gators baseball team that won the 2017 College World Series. Maye grew up family friends with quarterback Mason Rudolph, as their fathers played together at UNC. He is also good friends with Sam Howell, who preceded him as starting quarterback at UNC.