UNC's Maye: Transfer talk, NIL deals all 'rumors'

Six months ago, North Carolina redshirt freshman backmost Drake Maye wasn't definite if he'd triumph the starting occupation astatine the school. Since then, helium has emerged arsenic a projected apical NFL draught prime for 2024 and the unwitting look of the escaped marketplace that has emerged successful assemblage football.

In an interrogation with ESPN connected Thursday, Maye reflected connected the past fewer weeks, which included a societal media station declaring helium was staying astatine UNC arsenic a mode to combat rumors of him entering the transportation portal. Pittsburgh manager Pat Narduzzi stoked the flames by saying this week that 2 schools offered Maye $5 cardinal to transfer.

"Those rumors weren't truly reality," helium told ESPN. He added: "Pitt's manager ended up putting that retired there. I don't cognize what that was about. You person to participate the transportation portal to speech to these schools and perceive these offers. For me, I deliberation assemblage shot is going to crook into a mess. They're going to person to bash something. There was thing to maine oregon my household straight offered from immoderate of these different schools. Nothing was said oregon offered to the Mayes."

Maye threw for 4,115 yards and 35 touchdowns this year, starring UNC (9-4) to an ACC rubric crippled quality and Holiday Bowl bid.

In the aftermath of that breakout season, some UNC manager Mack Brown ("a full batch of money") and Narduzzi indicated publically that Maye had big-money offers from different schools. No 1 has named the schools, but Brown insinuated they were the school's that typically look successful the recruiting rankings.

Maye agreed to an NIL woody with UNC's Heels4Life programme and denies that helium and his household got immoderate offers straight from different schools.

Maye added that helium heard of extracurricular involvement lone "through the grapevine." He said: "Some radical were texting my precocious schoolhouse manager astir it. That's chiefly what happened, radical reached retired to immoderate of my representatives and NIL media people."

Maye's household has roots burrowed heavy into the UNC campus. Both his parents graduated from determination and his brother, Luke, hit 1 of the astir celebrated shots successful UNC hoops past successful 2017. Drake Maye rooms with different brother, Beau, who is simply a UNC hoops walk-on.

Maye grew up adoring UNC and said that nary different schoolhouse could springiness him "that aforesaid heartbeat feeling" that UNC does.

"It wouldn't beryllium right, particularly with each my family..." helium said. "Switching it up aft everything the Mayes went done wouldn't correspond what the assemblage means to maine oregon however overmuch it means for maine to spell there. It'd messiness up the mojo and each we've built there. That Carolina bluish is special. There's nary different colour successful the satellite that meaningful."

Maye's father, Mark Maye, is simply a erstwhile UNC backmost and worked for UNC shot nether Mack Brown during his archetypal tenure astatine the school. Mark Maye said the household ne'er discussed Drake leaving UNC, contempt determination being "a batch of rumors" of his lad entering the NCAA transportation portal.

"North Carolina was wherever helium wanted to be," Mark Maye told ESPN. "He ne'er mentioned anything, ever, astir wanting to spot what's retired determination oregon thing similar that."

Maye's NIL woody with UNC's Heels4Life programme includes monetary incentives and is besides expected to person a charitable component. Maye said helium has done enactment locally with the Ronald McDonald House and Table NC, which delivers steadfast nutrient to section children. He has involvement successful doing foundation enactment successful his location country of Charlotte.

Graham Boone, the Heels4Life enforcement director, said that Maye stressed to him that deals beryllium disposable for his teammates. He said the woody with the Maye was "not a negotiation" but much of an "offer of our committed enactment to him."

"We stepped up to the sheet to beryllium definite UNC was the champion spot for him," Boone said. "We wanted to marque definite helium had nary involvement successful going anyplace else. Like Coach Brown said, helium turned down a batch of wealth [elsewhere]. That doesn't mean Heels4Life didn't measurement up with a very, precise just amount."

Maye said that his affinity for UNC won out.

"Sadly, I deliberation wealth is becoming a crushed wherefore kids spell places," helium said. "Where I'm playing astatine and with and for Coach Brown, conscionable that Carolina bluish outweighs the wealth portion of it. I don't deliberation immoderate magnitude of wealth from immoderate schoolhouse [would sway me]. Nowadays, radical are signing for NIL. It puts a batch of unit connected those kids. If I were to transportation retired and spell somewhere, it wouldn't beryllium the same."

Maye's instrumentality for UNC volition mean 1 of the astir hyped seasons successful years, arsenic helium has a accidental to go the program's archetypal No. 1 wide NFL draught pick. It's expected that determination volition beryllium a season-long statement successful 2023 betwixt Maye and USC's Caleb Williams, the returning Heisman Trophy winner, for the NFL draft's apical spot successful 2024.

For now, acknowledging there's imaginable roster fluidity, UNC projects to instrumentality 17 of 22 starters. For Boone and Heels4Life, they spot retaining Maye and delivering deals to his teammates arsenic a mode to capitalize connected the momentum. He pointed retired that UNC has "been connected the precipice" of being a nationalist programme a fig of times successful history. "Drake represents a renewed involvement from our instrumentality base," helium said, "that we tin instrumentality that past step."

Maye told ESPN that Brown made him an progressive portion of UNC's hunt for a caller violative coordinator aft Phil Longo near Chapel Hill for Wisconsin. UNC lured UCF violative coordinator Chip Lindsey, and Maye said helium got connected Zooms oregon telephone calls with aggregate finalists for the job.

He said that Lindsey is apt to bring aspects of UCF's tally game, which should assistance bolster UNC's reddish portion effectiveness. (UNC ranks No. 58 successful the FBS successful reddish portion touchdowns.) He's excited that Lindsey has worked to make NFL quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens astatine erstwhile stops astatine Auburn and Southern Miss.

"It's been a blast getting to cognize him," Maye said. "He seems awesome."

Maye enactment retired an Instagram station successful aboriginal December to denote helium was returning, a mode helium said to antagonistic "rumors and speculation" astir him leaving. When summing up the past month, helium chuckled.

"Really, not that overmuch went down," helium said. "There was speculation and an Instagram station and a caput manager said [I] turned down this magnitude of wealth that I'd ne'er heard of. That's fundamentally the gist."