UNC’s Maye: Transfer talk, NIL deals all ‘rumors’
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Pete ThamelESPN
Six months ago, North Carolina redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye wasn’t sure if he’d win the starting job at the school. Since then, he has emerged as a projected top NFL draft pick for 2024 and the unwitting face of the free market that has emerged in college football.
In an interview with ESPN on Thursday, Maye reflected on the past few weeks, which included a social media post declaring he was staying at UNC as a way to combat rumors of him entering the transfer portal. Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi stoked the flames by saying this week that two schools offered Maye $5 million to transfer.
“Those rumors weren’t really reality,” he told ESPN. He added: “Pitt’s coach ended up putting that out there. I don’t know what that was about. You have to enter the transfer portal to talk to these schools and hear these offers. For me, I think college football is going to turn into a mess. They’re going to have to do something. There was nothing to me or my family directly offered from any of these other schools. Nothing was said or offered to the Mayes.”
Maye threw for 4,115 yards and 35 touchdowns this year, leading UNC (9-4) to an ACC title game appearance and Holiday Bowl bid.
In the wake of that breakout season, both UNC coach Mack Brown (“a whole lot of money”) and Narduzzi indicated publicly that Maye had big-money offers from other schools. No one has named the schools, but Brown insinuated they were the school’s that typically appear in the recruiting rankings.
Maye agreed to an NIL deal with UNC’s Heels4Life program and denies that he and his family got any offers directly from other schools.
Maye added that he heard of outside interest only “through the grapevine.” He said: “Some people were texting my high school coach about it. That’s mainly what happened, people reached out to some of my representatives and NIL media people.”
Maye’s family has roots burrowed deep into the UNC campus. Both his parents graduated from there and his brother, Luke, hit one of the most famous shots in UNC basketball history in 2017. Drake Maye rooms with another brother, Beau, who is a UNC basketball walk-on.
Maye grew up adoring UNC and said that no other school could give him “that same heartbeat feeling” that UNC does.
“It wouldn’t sit right, especially with all my family…” he said. “Switching it up after everything the Mayes went through wouldn’t represent what the university means to me or how much it means for me to go there. It’d mess up the mojo and all we’ve built there. That Carolina blue is special. There’s no other color in the world that meaningful.”
Maye’s father, Mark Maye, is a former UNC quarterback and worked for UNC football under Mack Brown during his first tenure at the school. Mark Maye said the family never discussed Drake leaving UNC, despite there being “a lot of rumors” of his son entering the NCAA transfer portal.
“North Carolina was where he wanted to be,” Mark Maye told ESPN. “He never mentioned anything, ever, about wanting to see what’s out there or anything like that.”
Maye’s NIL deal with UNC’s Heels4Life program includes monetary incentives and is also expected to have a charitable component. Maye said he has done work locally with the Ronald McDonald House and Table NC, which delivers healthy food to local children. He has interest in doing charity work in his home area of Charlotte.
Graham Boone, the Heels4Life executive director, said that Maye stressed to him that deals be available for his teammates. He said the deal with the Maye was “not a negotiation” but more of an “offer of our committed support to him.”
“We stepped up to the plate to be sure UNC was the best place for him,” Boone said. “We wanted to make sure he had no interest in going anywhere else. Like Coach Brown said, he turned down a lot of money [elsewhere]. That doesn’t mean Heels4Life didn’t step up with a very, very fair amount.”
Maye said that his affinity for UNC won out.
“Sadly, I think money is becoming a reason why kids go places,” he said. “Where I’m playing at and with and for Coach Brown, just that Carolina blue outweighs the money part of it. I don’t think any amount of money from whatever school [would sway me]. Nowadays, people are signing for NIL. It puts a lot of pressure on those kids. If I were to transfer out and go somewhere, it wouldn’t be the same.”
Maye’s return for UNC will mean one of the most hyped seasons in years, as he has a chance to become the program’s first No. 1 overall NFL draft pick. It’s expected that there will be a season-long debate in 2023 between Maye and USC’s Caleb Williams, the returning Heisman Trophy winner, for the NFL draft’s top spot in 2024.
For now, acknowledging there’s potential roster fluidity, UNC projects to return 17 of 22 starters. For Boone and Heels4Life, they see retaining Maye and delivering deals to his teammates as a way to capitalize on the momentum. He pointed out that UNC has “been on the precipice” of being a national program a number of times in history. “Drake represents a renewed interest from our fan base,” he said, “that we can take that last step.”
Maye told ESPN that Brown made him an active part of UNC’s search for a new offensive coordinator after Phil Longo left Chapel Hill for Wisconsin. UNC lured UCF offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, and Maye said he got on Zooms or phone calls with multiple finalists for the job.
He said that Lindsey is likely to bring aspects of UCF’s run game, which should help bolster UNC’s red zone effectiveness. (UNC ranks No. 58 in the FBS in red zone touchdowns.) He’s excited that Lindsey has worked to develop NFL quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens at previous stops at Auburn and Southern Miss.
“It’s been a blast getting to know him,” Maye said. “He seems awesome.”
Maye put out an Instagram post in early December to announce he was returning, a way he said to counter “rumors and speculation” about him leaving. When summing up the past month, he chuckled.
“Really, not that much went down,” he said. “There was speculation and an Instagram post and a head coach said [I] turned down this amount of money that I’d never heard of. That’s basically the gist.”
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Kristen Shilton
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Ryan S. Clark
With most NHL teams having played 41 games this season, it’s time for another round of report cards.
Some teams have far outpaced their preseason expectations — the Minnesota Wild and Washington Capitals among them — while others have fallen well short — looking at you, New York Rangers and Nashville Predators.
In addition to an overall grade for each club at the midway point, we’ve also identified each team’s class president and a player in danger of failing.
Note: Teams are arrayed alphabetically by letter grade. Ryan S. Clark graded the Pacific and Central Division teams, and Kristen Shilton graded the Metropolitan and Atlantic Division teams. Stats are through the games of Jan. 11. Preseason over/unders are courtesy of ESPN BET sportsbook.
Jump to:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF
CGY | CAR | CHI | COL
CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM
FLA | LA | MIN | MTL
NSH | NJ | NYI | NYR
OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ
SEA | STL | TB | TOR
VAN | VGS | WSH | WPG
A grades
Record: 27-13-4
Preseason over/under: 93.5
Current points pace: 108.1
Class president: Kirill Kaprizov. Being on pace for a 50-goal and 100-point season only adds to the reality Kaprizov is one of the game’s most dangerous players. There’s also an argument to be had about him being one of the most valuable. The Wild aren’t like other teams that have balanced scoring throughout their lineup. They have four players who have scored more than 50% of their goals and Kaprizov is among that quartet. His 23 goals and 27 assists — with 15 of them being primary — means he has played a role in being responsible for more than 40% of the Wild’s goals.
In danger of failing: Yakov Trenin. Pointing the proverbial finger at Trenin is a bit repetitive, but it’s that way because of the Wild’s salary cap implications. The combined Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts mean the club must spend judiciously. Signing Trenin to a four-year deal worth $3.5 million annually meant the Wild were getting a player who could provide them with another double-digit goal scorer. Trenin had three goals through 37 games and is projected to score six goals after three straight seasons of more than 12 goals.
Grade: A+ (first-quarter grade: A+). Kaprizov is having the type of season that has him in the Hart Trophy discussion. Filip Gustavsson could end up being a Vezina Trophy finalist and Matt Boldy, Brock Faber and Marco Rossi continue to show why they’re an important part of the Wild’s present and future plans. It’s enough to keep them in the race for the Central entering January. But will it be enough in the postseason?
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Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
Penn State junior standout running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton both announced Monday that they will be returning to the Nittany Lions for the 2025 season.
“We still have goals we want to reach as a team, and I want to be alongside my teammates as we reach those goals,” Singleton wrote in his announcement.
Allen, meanwhile, said that “it’s clear that we still have a lot more to accomplish.”
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had ranked Allen and Singleton as the Nos. 5 and 6 running backs available in the upcoming NFL draft.
This past season, the two teamed up to give Penn State one of college football’s top rushing duos — Allen rushed for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 5.0 yards per carry; Singleton rushed for 1,099 yards with 12 touchdowns and ranked fourth in the Big Ten with 6.4 yards per carry.
Singleton also led Big Ten running backs with 375 receiving yards on 41 receptions.
Singleton ran for three touchdowns in Penn State’s 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals Thursday. Allen rushed for 134 yards in the Nittany Lions’ quarterfinal victory over Boise State on Dec. 31.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar previously announced he was coming back. With Allen and Singleton joining him, the Nittany Lions will enter next season with one of the country’s most prolific and experienced backfields.
Quarterback Carson Beck‘s college career might not be over yet.
The Georgia starter came into this past season as one of the top-rated passers available for the 2025 NFL draft, and an early favorite to go No. 1 overall. But after a season in which he threw nine interceptions during a four-game stretch (and three more in a 41-34 loss at Alabama) and struggled mightily in other games, his draft stock fell sharply.
Making matters worse, Beck was injured on the final play of the first half in Georgia’s 22-19 overtime victory against Texas in the Dec. 7 SEC championship game. Beck had season-ending surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right, throwing elbow on Dec. 23. Five days later, he announced he was entering the NFL draft.
Then on Thursday, Beck entered the transfer portal. On Friday, Beck committed to Miami, where he’ll replace record-setting QB Cam Ward. Due to his injury, Beck, however, isn’t expected to resume throwing until sometime this spring. — Mark Schlabach
Why is he heading to Miami?
There were lots of rumors linking Beck to Miami back in December, which he briefly put to rest when he declared for the draft. But just as they did last year with Cam Ward, Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes stayed patient and eventually won out for one of the top quarterbacks in the portal.
Ward was worth every penny with the remarkable season he put together in 2024 and the leadership he brought to the program. He seriously boosted his NFL draft stock as a result of his 2024 season and could end up being the No. 1 overall pick. If you’re Beck, that’s the goal in coming back for an extra season. Miami won’t have the same supporting cast of playmakers back for 2025, but they had a lot to sell as Beck’s ideal destination.
Beck won a lot of games with the Bulldogs but never got an opportunity to start in a College Football Playoff game. Two November losses knocked Miami out of the ACC title game and the 12-team CFP this season. Both sides are highly motivated to make the most of 2025, and Beck’s arrival will once again mean big preseason expectations for this program. It’s fair to call this another playoff-or-bust season for Cristobal and the Canes. — Max Olson
What’s next for Georgia?
Beck’s replacement, third-year sophomore Gunner Stockton, played well enough in the second half of the SEC championship game and in a 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Allstate Sugar Bowl that he’ll likely go into spring practice as the favorite to replace Beck.
Stockton, one of the most productive quarterbacks in Georgia high school history, led the Bulldogs back from a 6-3 deficit in the second half to defeat Texas in Atlanta. In his first college start, he completed 20 of 32 passes for 234 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against a very good Notre Dame defense.
Stockton should improve with a full offseason to prepare as the starter. He’ll have to hold off freshman Ryan Puglisi, the No. 9 pocket passer in the class of 2024, according to ESPN. The Bulldogs signed two quarterbacks in their most recent recruiting class: Ryan Montgomery of Findlay, Ohio, and Hezekiah Millender of Athens, Georgia.
The Bulldogs might still bring in another experienced quarterback from the portal. They were linked to former Alabama backup Dylan Lonergan and Cal starter Fernando Mendoza before those two signed with Boston College and Indiana, respectively. — Schlabach
Did Beck fall out of favor with NFL scouts?
After entering the season as a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in 2025, Beck didn’t live up to expectations, finishing with solid statistics — 28 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and 3,485 yards — but up-and-down performances. He had three games at midseason in which he threw a combined eight picks, which raised eyebrows among NFL scouts. I dropped him in my rankings to the No. 5 quarterback in the 2025 class.
Speaking to evaluators in the league, Beck’s draft grades were all over the place, as some thought he would go in Round 2, while others thought he could go as low as Round 5. After his announcement that he was declaring for the draft, one scout said: “I was surprised.”
At Miami, Beck should have an opportunity to recapture his 2023 form, when he threw just six interceptions. Drew Allar (Penn State) is the early headliner of the 2026 class, and Beck needs a big season to get back into the Round 1 discussion. — Jordan Reid
What’s the latest with Beck’s injury?
On the day of Beck’s surgery, a Georgia statement indicated the procedure was successful, and he was expected to begin throwing again in the spring. Not much else — about the severity of the injury or his recovery time — is publicly known.
According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, UCL injuries are common among gymnasts, wrestlers, football players and baseball pitchers. The length of Beck’s recovery would depend on whether he partially or completely tore the ligament and where it was torn (proximal, distal or mid-substance).
“For patients who have full thickness tears and need to return to high demand throwing type activities, surgery may be considered,” the Mayo Clinic website says. “Surgery typically entails either a repair (fixing your current ligament by sewing and anchoring it back down to the bone) or reconstruction (replacing your injured ligament) of the UCL.”
Beck wouldn’t be the first quarterback to come back from UCL surgery. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy injured the UCL in his right, throwing elbow against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 29, 2023. He had surgery to repair his UCL on March 10, 2023, and returned to throwing less than three months later. He started the 49ers’ opener on Sept. 10, 2023.
The Mayo Clinic website said athletes who experience UCL injuries have a 95-100% return rate to athletics for non-throwers and 85-95% for throwers. — Schlabach
What are the rules about entering the portal after declaring for the draft?
Beck announced his intentions of entering the NFL draft, but he has until Feb. 7 to remove his name from the draft by sending an opt-out letter to the league office.
College football players whose teams’ seasons had already ended had until Jan. 6 to declare for the draft. Players on teams that are still competing in the CFP (Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas) have until Jan. 27 to decide whether to leave their names in the draft. — Schlabach
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