Quarterback Drake Maye makes it official: UNC QB declares for the 2024 NFL Draft.
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, who said it was his “childhood dream” to play for the Tar Heels, is now pursuing another football dream: playing in the NFL with .
become.
Maye, a redshirt sophomore, announced Monday that he plans to enter the 2024 NFL Draft, where he is expected to be one of the first QBs selected and a top pick in the first round.
There is a high possibility that May was not alone in making this decision.
Wide receiver Tez Walker, linebacker Cedric Gray, center Corey Gainer and defensive lineman Myles Murphy all announced Monday that they are ending their college careers and joining the NFL.
Maye said he will not participate in the Dukes-Mayo Bowl in December.
On the 27th, they will play against West Virginia in Charlotte.
Walker, Gray and Gainer will also not participate in the bowl game, but Murphy said they will play.
UNC announced Monday that five players will miss the bowl due to injury: tight ends John Copenhaver and Bryson Nesbitt, defensive backs Aliyah Hagy and Will Hardy, and offensive lineman Zach Rice
.
Maye was named the 2022 ACC Player of the Year and was selected in a preseason poll by ACC Media to repeat that honor in 2023.
There was talk nationally that he could be a Heisman Trophy candidate if he could lead the Tar Heels to a special season.
That didn’t happen.
UNC, which played in the 2022 ACC title game, won its first six games and finished in the top 10 in the voting, but lost four of its final six games in a late-season relegation.
UNC lost to NC at the end of the regular season.
They defeated State 39-20, a bittersweet ending that May called “shit.
” He couldn’t complete a pass in the first quarter, only passing for 58 yards at halftime (UNC led 26-7) and ending up with 254 yards and two touchdowns.
finished.
Maye said after the game that he had not made any decisions about whether he would participate in the NFL Draft or the Tar Heels’ bowl game, but he may still participate in one more game and is expected to participate with his teammates.
The final stitch of the season suggested that they wanted to cancel it.
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Since then, when announcing his intention to enter the draft, he has made it clear that he will not play in the Duke-Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
Maye was named second-team All-ACC and finished the 2023 season completing 63.
3% of his passes for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.
Those numbers are down from the 2022 season, when he completed 4,444 passes, completed 66.
2% of his passes, had 4,321 yards, 38 TDs, and seven picks.
That obviously won’t hurt his draft stock.
At 6-4, 230 pounds, Maye has the size, strong shoulders and ability to play out of the pocket that many NFL teams look for in a QB, but he ran for 56 yards against puck defenses.
I struggled.
Some NFL mock drafts have Southern California’s Caleb Williams and Maye as the top two quarterbacks.
May said she attended games at Kenan Stadium as a child and grew up in a “Carolina family.
” His father, Mark Maye, was a quarterback for UNC coach Dick Crum in the 1980s.
His older brother Luke received a national championship ring in 2017, when the Heels won his NCAA basketball title.
North Carolina’s Devontez Walker (9) scores on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Drake Maye in the third quarter of the North Carolina vs.
North Carolina game.
State action on Saturday, November 25, 2023, at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com Walker also enters NFL draft His North Carolina State engaged in a long and increasingly public eligibility battle with the NCAA to get Walker in the lineup this season.
Walker ultimately qualified and played in eight games for the Tar Heels.
Now he is leaving.
Walker announced Monday that he will enter the NFL Draft, but the Heels confirmed Walker will not play in the Mayo Bowl at Duke University.
The Charlotte native has been invited to the 2024 Senior Bowl along with other NFL prospects, an early sign of his pro aspirations.
Despite the shortened 2023 season, Walker became the Heels’ leading receiver and was named third-team All-ACC.
He quickly became Maye’s favorite target during an 8-4 season with 41 receptions for 699 yards and seven touchdowns.
Walker, 6-2, 200 pounds, gives the Tar Heels an added threat and the type of speed that should improve their chances in the NFL Draft.
Walker will transfer to UNC from Kent State in January 2023 and will be on the roster starting with the 2023 season.
It was Walker’s second transfer, and UNC assumed he would be granted an exemption from the NCAA’s two-transfer school rule, which requires undergraduate athletes to sit out a year.
Walker played at Central before transferring to Kent State, where he was in North Carolina, but never appeared in a game.
The Eagles’ 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
But days after Walker enrolled at UNC, the NCAA passed a more restrictive exemption for two-time transfers.
Walker was subsequently denied immediate eligibility for the 2023 season.
Eric Church in a Tez Walker jersey before UNC vs.
South Carolina in the Dukes Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, September 2, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
, head to the coin toss with the captains.
Ethan Hyman ehyman@ newsobserver .com UNC appealed the decision.
Governor Roy Cooper sent a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker supporting Walker’s lawsuit.
Attorney General Josh Stein later sent a letter to the NCAA saying legal action could be taken if Walker’s request for waivers is denied.
UNC coach Mack Brown wasn’t quiet either.
Furious that the NCAA did not grant him a waiver, the Hall of Fame coach released a statement saying he had lost faith in the NCAA, ending with the words “disappointed.
“
