North Carolina Freshman QB Dominates In First Career Start

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye balled out Saturday night against Florida A&M.

The redshirt freshman and former Alabama commit was named QB1 by head coach Mack Brown a few days ago, and expectations were very high for the North Carolina native.

Well, he didn't disappoint during the 56-24 win.

In his first career start, Maye torched the Rattlers for five touchdowns, 294 passing yards and no interceptions. He also tacked on 55 rushing yards on four carries.

Most of those yards came after he ripped off a single run for north of 40 yards.

When Maye decommitted from Alabama, the belief was North Carolina's native son could inject life and energy into the program.

It might have only been one game against a bad team, but Maye lit it up and 100% lived up to the hype in his first start.

Not since Graham Mertz's infamous first start against Illinois in 2020 have we seen a redshirt freshman get after it like this in his start.

Now, does Maye dismantling the Rattlers and putting on a show in primetime for football fans means he's guaranteed to be a star?

Not at all, but it does mean the potential is there. Any redshirt freshman who slings five touchdowns in their first career start clearly has a high ceiling.

UNC QB Drake Maye dominates in first career start. (Photo by Nicholas Faulkner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Tar Heels play Notre Dame September 24. If Drake Maye is able to put up big stats on the Fighting Irish to close out the month, it might be a good indication the young man is the real deal.