Quarterback Drake Maye’s fleet feet keep UNC football one step ahead of ACC defenses
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye remains a puzzle for defensive coordinators. Normally, for a first-time starter, the more game footage that exists, the more likely opponents hone in on tendencies and figure out a way to stop what has worked so well.
Maye and the Tar Heels have kept them guessing so far.
The redshirt freshman leads the ACC in several categories, including total offense and passing efficiency. Carolina (6-1, 3-0 ACC) is tops in the ACC in scoring offense and total offense headed into its open date on Saturday. The Heels will be back in action on Oct. 29 against Pittsburgh (4-2, 1-1).
What has helped make Maye so difficult to defend is his ability to scramble. His 378 rushing yards lead the team, and Maye ranks seventh in the ACC. He’s second only to Louisville’s Malik Cunningham in rushing yards among the league’s quarterbacks.
Defenders know this too, which is why their respect of Maye’s running ability leaves them open to him scrambling just to pass.
“One thing I kind of pride myself with is trying to make plays, not just in the pocket, but escape the pocket and find guys downfield,” Maye said.
It’s worked time and again, most notably on Maye’s game-winning touchdown pass to Antoine Green against Duke last week. With Maye scrambling in the pocket and the original play broken down, Green worked back to the ball to make a catch in the corner of the end zone.
There’s no plan to defend improvisation, and UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo relies on that. He knows it’s tougher, in general, to account for the quarterback when he can pass the way Maye has.
“We want defenses to have to defend everybody, that includes our quarterback,” Longo said. “What we’d like is for Drake to be the add-on weapon when they work their tail off from a numbers standpoint to match everybody and get them all covered; or to add players to the box to stop the run game.”
The past three games teams have taken three different approaches to defended the Heels:
▪ Virginia Tech wanted to take the run game away and make Maye beat them passing. He went 26 of 36 for 363 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-10 win.
▪ Miami focused on keeping his ability to run and scramble in check. The Hurricanes had some success in forcing two interceptions. But Maye still popped off a 33-yard run and finished with 53 rushing yards and passed for 309 yards and two scores, including a 74-yarder in a 27-24 win.
▪ Duke tried using some exotic disguised coverages to confuse the young signal-caller. Maye had his best performance yet in conference play, completing 73.7 percent of his passing attempts for 380 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner with 16 seconds left in Carolina’s 38-35 win.
“They got to play us pretty balanced, we’ve got a lot of weapons on the field,” UNC receiver Josh Downs said. “So it’s not like they can just try to take one singular person away all game. So I mean defenses just give us a balanced attack. But I feel like they do try to stop the pass a little more.”
Downs leads the team with 37 catches for 425 yards, but the moment teams start thinking if they stop him they can stop Carolina is when they get burned. Maye doesn’t lock in to trying to force the ball to Downs.
Seven different players average at least two receptions per game. That includes Green, who averages 29 yards per reception and has four touchdowns in just four games played.
“That is the biggest reason why we want to distribute the ball to everybody,” Longo said.
There is one play Maye said he noticed teams have altered the way they defend. Carolina has had success running Maye on a draw this season. Some opponents have now started instructing their linemen not to rush entirely up the field as a precaution against it.
“Quarterback draw was a big hit for us last year,” Maye said. “I think some teams are kind of not trying to get as much rush up field, trying to push the pocket a little bit and maybe kind of kind of set some (defensive) lineman back a little bit watching me, seeing my escape routes and stuff like that.”
Maye has still managed to escape more often than not, as Carolina has stayed one step ahead of the defenders that are coming for him.
“Defenses have to make concessions just like we do, you can’t have everything, you can’t have it both ways,” Longo said. “He definitely has alerted the league and people that we play that he’s going to utilize his feet as a weapon. And so it really comes down to defense deciding do they want to make him one of the primary weapons they have to stop going into a game? Or are they going to live with what they have to live with?”
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 5:45 AM with the headline "Quarterback Drake Maye’s fleet feet keep UNC football one step ahead of ACC defenses."