North Carolina really out here flipping Alabama commits now: 4-star QB Drake Maye picks Tar Heels

Welcome to a world where Mack Brown and North Carolina are flipping Alabama commits.

Well, that’s it. The dynasty is dead. Alabama lost the commitment from four-star quarterback recruit Drake Maye who gave his verbal to Mack Brown and North Carolina on Friday.

Maye (Myers Park, Charlotte, NC) is the nation’s No. 56 overall recruit, No. 6 pro-style quarterback and No. 3 recruit in the state of North Carolina, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The 6-5, 210-pound signal-caller announced the move on Twitter where he credits the relationships he had with his recruiters, offensive coordinator Phil Longo and cornerbacks coach Dre Bly.

Attracting a quarterback like Maye is likely not possible without the play of freshman Sam Howell last year. After he flipped from Florida State to UNC, Howell turned in a record-breaking year with 37 touchdowns, breaking Trevor Lawrence‘s single-season record for touchdowns by a freshman.

This is a significant development move for Brown and the future of the North Carolina football program. It’s important to recruit the best players in your state first and that’s what he did.

Keeping Maye in the state continues an early trend for the 2021 class that is now seven players deep with the top six all hailing from North Carolina.

Maye is the highest-ranked of the six recruits who all are ranked inside the top 257 recruits in the nation, per 247Sports. North Carolina boasts the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation and No. 3 in the ACC after the addition of Maye.

There should be plenty of momentum behind North Carolina into the spring and summer when several top recruits are taking visits to campuses for camp season.

With the quarterback in the fold, expect him to begin recruiting receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen, running backs and other elite recruits to follow him to Chapel Hill.

Nine of the top 15 recruits in the state of North Carolina are uncommitted, including three of the top four players and two five-star recruits, running back Will Shipley and defensive tackle Payton Page.

Notre Dame and Clemson may have a head start on the recruitment for those two players, but don’t discount Brown’s powers of persuasion and getting in the mix.

North Carolina football fans can get a look at Maye and what he’s capable of by watching his 2019 highlights in the clip below. Charles Power of 247Sports compared Maye to Sam Bradford, a former Heisman winner and No. 1 NFL Draft pick.

As for Alabama, don’t weep for them losing Maye. His decision was likely influenced by the presence of freshman quarterback Bryce Young who is expected to compete for the starting job this spring and summer.

If Maye stuck with his commitment to Alabama, he could have been behind Young for two years, but at UNC, he could only sit for one year behind Howell before he presumably declares for the NFL Draft after his junior year in 2022.

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