College football begins in less than a month.
Yes, you read that correctly.
We’ll have an appetizer of “Week Zero” matchups the last weekend of August, then the main course over Labor Day Weekend.
UNC will be kicking off its season against neighboring rival South Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. inside Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. The Gamecocks have the rivalry’s upper hand of late, winning seven of the last 10 matchups, despite the Heels having a 35-20-4 all-time advantage.
Teams are busy trying to figure out position battles and depth charts. Coaches are crafting the most effective games plans so their teams can win more games. Right now, everyone is dealing with what future conference they will be participating in.
The Heels are trying to figure out if they’ll be sticking in the ACC or not, but luckily for them, they’ve got a lot of their starters figured out.
It’s no doubt that Drake Maye will be quarterback the offense. Maye, one of the best players in the entire country who could possibly go first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, is coming off a redshirt freshman season in which he won nine honors. Maye’s 4,321 passing yards landed him fourth in the entire FBS, just behind Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.
Watch these four social media clips and see how good Maye looks in practice:
Competing ⚔️#CarolinaFootball 🏈 #UNCommon pic.twitter.com/mz3N7Zx276
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) August 9, 2023
In the top left clip, Maye fires a dart to tight end John Copenhaver, who catches the ball over Don Champan then races towards the end zone.
You can’t see Maye in the top right clip, but you can see running back Omarion Hampton making a shoestring catch on the sidelines.
In the bottom left clip, Maye rolls to his right and finds a diving Nate McCollum.
In the bottom right clip, Maye hits Deems May in stride.
Even if it’s just one practice, it’s encouraging to see Maye forming connections with his pass-catchers. He doesn’t have the help of Josh Downs or Antoine Green, so that newfound chemistry will be crucial.
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