Maye on transfer portal: 'It means something wearing that Carolina blue'

No school has reached out to North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye about a transfer, he said Saturday night after the Tar Heels' loss to Clemson in the ACC football championship game.

"I'm a Carolina kid. It means something wearing that Carolina blue," Maye said when asked if he planned to return to UNC next season. "That's my intentions. I love this place. These fans have been great. It's been a heck of a season. First year for me, I couldn't ask for more."

Maye was named the ACC's rookie, offensive player and overall player of the year earlier this week. He is the first Tar Heel to win player of the year in the league since 1980 when linebacker Lawrence Taylor did so.

Maye's father quarterbacked UNC in the mid-1980s. His brother Luke played 141 games and won a national title for the UNC basketball team and his brother Beau currently plays for the Tar Heels' hoops squad.

"I haven't had anybody reach out. I don't know if I will," said Maye, who initially committed to Alabama out of high school before changing to UNC. "I probably won't really accept personal ... contact. I think that's bad. Just the way Carolina's treated me and put trust in me, a redshirt freshman quarterback."

Coaches can officially contact most players in the transfer portal beginning Monday. Thousands of players are expected to enter the portal. Undergraduate players can transfer once with immediate eligibility in their career.

UNC coach Mack Brown said one starter on his team has already been contacted by 15 schools, all offering name, image and likeness money. Brown said that player, whom he did not name, told him he was staying at North Carolina.

"It's an issue that needs to get stopped," Brown said a day before the ACC title game. "Before you could call it tampering. Now you've got agents, you've got third parties, you've got high school coaches. I've just told our players if somebody is calling you and trying to get you to go, let me know. Let me know who they are."

Maye, who is eligible to enter the NFL Draft after the 2023 season, said he has not mapped out a strategy for dealing with potential offers to transfer.

"I haven't thought that deep into it," he said.

Maye completed 26-of-42 passes for 268 yards and two interceptions in the 39-10 loss to Clemson. He was held without a touchdown pass for just the second time all season. Maye had a rushing touchdown on the Tar Heels' first drive, but he had two costly turnovers -- a fumble in UNC territory and an interception near the Clemson goalline that was returned 98 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Maye set the single-season passing record for an ACC freshman with 4,115, passing the record set by Florida State's Jameis Winston in 2013. Maye's 4,115 passing yards are the eighth-most in ACC history and his 4,768 yards of total offense are the fifth-most in a single season in ACC history.

Maye's backup Jacolby Criswell is leaving the program. Criswell, a redshirt sophomore, battled Maye throughout fall practice for the starting job, which Maye claimed. He played sparingly behind Maye throughout the season.