North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye struggled against Clemson’s defense in the loss on Saturday. The Tigers made life hard on Maye, putting pressure on him and forcing him to throw in tight windows.
Throughout the game, it looked as if Maye could never really get into any consistent rhythm and it hurt UNC’s offense.
A few days after the game, head coach Mack Brown revealed a big reason why Maye could never get into a groove. And it starts up front with the offensive line.
“He’ll be driven to play better on Saturday (at NC State)” Brown said Monday via Inside Carolina. “We didn’t give him enough time. We’ve protected really well, and we didn’t protect as well (at Clemson). He was under duress, and they hit him some when he was throwing it.”
The Tar Heels enter Saturday’s game at 8-3 and if they want to get to 10 wins, they have to beat a now-ranked NC State team as well as win their bowl game. And if they want to do that, Maye is going to have to play at a high level and the protection is going to have to be better.
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