QDrake Maye, a former UNC quarterback, is predicted to be an early first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft following a successful college career with the Tar Heels. He almost went to Alabam and, this week, recounted decommitting from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide before staying home to play for Mack Brown.
“I dreaded it for a while,” Maye admitted on The Dan Patrick Show. “Coach Saban was one of my favorites during the recruitment process, so having to tell him I’m staying home was difficult. But I believe Coach Saban understood. Perhaps things would have turned out differently, but I believe Coach Saban is the greatest college football coach of all time. He turned out fine.”
Maye committed to Saban and Alabama in July 2019, as the seventh-best quarterback in the recruitment cycle. The Charlotte native previously told 247Sports that the program’s status drew him to Tuscaloosa. He even stated that he was “shutting it down” in recruiting at the time.
“It’s the winning mentality,” Maye explained following his verbal promise. “I went down there in the spring and then to camp in the summer. I loved it. I got down with Coach Saban and we talked about the winning attitude; it’s all about winning down there. It meant a lot to me to hear coach Saban declare that I was a top target for the 2021 class. I simply felt like, why not Bama?
Maye’s father, Mark, chose North Carolina over Alabama in the 1980s and played quarterback for the Tar Heels. Luke, his older brother, was a basketball star at Chapel Hill.
“(Dad) tells me he should have gone to Alabama, but he loves Carolina,” Drake added, chuckling. “He had a good career.”
