2023 Drake Maye Stats: Maye Is Still In The Heisman Race
The Sophomore Has Accounted for 12 Touchdowns in Five Games
Drake Maye and the North Carolina Tar Heels are on a quest to win the ACC Championship and earn a College Football Playoff bid.
Through five games, North Carolina is undefeated. It’s mainly due to Drake Maye, who has led the team in passing as the starting quarterback for the team.
Maye is only a sophomore. But with two years under his belt, he’ll be eligible to join the next NFL Draft.
He’s already projected to go high in the draft. However, his stock can get even higher if North Carolina continues to win.
Maye earned 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns last season. Can he replicate those stats this year? Take a look at the 2023 Drake Maye stats for the potential Heisman candidate.
Maye, As a Freshman
Drake Maye took over starting duties as a redshirt freshman in 2022. He was behind Sam Howell and then got his opportunity once Howell went to the NFL.
In his first season, he played incredibly. Maye completed 66.2% of passes with 4,321 yards passing. He also threw 38 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions. However, he still took 40 sacks.
But he wasn’t just a primer thrower. Maye also ran for nearly 700 yards on the ground with 184 attempts. Maye averaged 3.8 yards per rush and scored seven on the ground.
Therefore, he accounted for 45 total touchdowns in one entire season.
After those numbers, expectations were very high for Maye coming into his sophomore season.
So far, he’s delivered.
Below, we’ll take a look at the 2023 Drake Maye stats.
Drake Maye Player Profile & Stats
Pro Football Network released a 2024 NFL Mock Draft, with Maye going third overall to the Las Vegas Raiders.
They put Maye on the Tier 1 list of quarterbacks, which included Caleb Williams and Maye. No other quarterback in that mock draft was selected in the first round.
That’s how high analysts and scouts have Maye as a quarterback.
This season, North Carolina is 5-0. His best game came last weekend against the Syracuse Orange, where he added 442 yards passing and three touchdowns in the air. Maye even secured another touchdown on the ground, with 55 rushing yards on a season-high 14 attempts.
Maye has progressed as the year has gone on. His teammate, Tez Walker, also got the NCAA’s clearance to play this season. That’s just another added weapon to the offense with Maye under center.
Drake Maye Career Stats
Maye has thrown for 47 touchdowns on 706 attempts in his career. He’s also thrown 47 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions and has averaged 8.6 yards per pass this year. His average of 9.1 yards per pass attempt this season is better than last year’s 8.4.
Maye has also had more protection from the offensive line this year, giving him more opportunity in the pocket.
Take a look at his career stats below.
| Drake Maye | Career Stats |
|---|---|
| COMP | 478 |
| ATT | 706 |
| COMP% | 67.7% |
| PASS Yards | 6,039 |
| PASS TD | 47 |
| INTs | 11 |
| Carries | 242 |
| RUSH Yards | 934 |
| RUSH TD | 11 |
This season, Maye is on track for fewer sacks and a much higher completion percentage than last year. He hasn’t earned many passing touchdowns, but he’s still accounted for 12 touchdowns in five games this year.
| Drake Maye | 2023 Stats |
|---|---|
| COMP | 129 |
| ATT | 179 |
| COMP% | 72.1 |
| PASS Yards | 1,629 |
| PASS TD | 8 |
| INT | 4 |
| Carries | 52 |
| RUSH Yards | 174 |
| RUSH TD | 4 |
The Passing Touchdowns Will Come!
Drake Maye averaged 2.71 passing touchdowns per game last year. This year, he’s only earned 1.6 passing touchdowns per game.
That’s about to change.
North Carolina hasn’t faced tough competition this year. The Tar Heels actually haven’t even played a single ranked team this year.
On Saturday, they’ll face the Miami Hurricanes, who also have a good offense. In the ACC, there will likely be a lot of shootouts and higher-scoring games. But in the first month of the season, the Tar Heels didn’t need to be aggressive and score many touchdowns.
They will now.
North Carolina has Georgia Tech, Duke, Clemson, and North Carolina State on the schedule before the regular season ends. They’ll also face Virginia and Campbell, two NCAAF teams where Maye can boost his stats.
Currently, the Tar Heels are on pace for an ACC Championship game. His stats would be even better with an ACC Championship appearance. But that’s down the line. We can’t get ahead of ourselves. None of the NCAAF games on the college football schedule is manageable. However, North Carolina’s feeling confident knowing Maye is under center for its squad.
The Heisman Race
Drake Maye isn’t a projected finalist for the Heisman award. But if he plays like last weekend, he’ll continue to rise up the board.
The NCAA lines football has Michael Penix Jr. at +220 to win the Heisman. Meanwhile, others ahead of Drake Maye include Caleb Williams of USC, Bo Nix of Oregon, Dillion Gabriel of Oklahoma, Jordan Travis of Florida State, and J.J. McCarthy of Michigan.
Then it’s Drake Maye.
Does anyone know what these quarterbacks all have in common?
They’re all undefeated as quarterbacks in their program. To win the Heisman, your team needs to win games. Maye and North Carolina have done that this season.
But they also did it last year.
North Carolina went 9-1 to begin its season last year. However, eventually, the team fell off and lost four straight to close out the year. That hurt Maye’s chances at the Heisman last season. Despite his team’s defense being mostly blamed for North Carolina’s struggles, he wasn’t even in the race.
But that’s just how it goes.
Still, North Carolina has a favorable schedule. They don’t face Florida State or Louisville. Those two teams have been electric to begin the season.
Therefore, you should watch for the 2023 Drake Maye stats. He has all the potential to get deep into that Heisman race if North Carolina can escape Miami on Saturday.
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