The North Carolina Tar Heels enter the 2023 college football season with high expectations. After a 9-1 start last year, they finished 9-5 and are using that as motivation for the 2023 campaign.
The biggest thing North Carolina has going for them is quarterback Drake Maye returning for another season.
Maye is a Heisman Trophy candidate for this season and is among the best players to return in all of college football. And if Maye can put together a season like he did a year ago, UNC should be in good shape.
As we get ready for the upcoming season, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt has released his preseason top 25 which includes North Carolina. The Tar Heels check in at No. 21 in the rankings. Here is what Klatt had to say about UNC:
“I know that they lost a lot of pieces, but they’ve got a great quarterback. This is the Drake Maye ranking. He’s gonna have to pull them along. As far as he goes, they will go. I knew I liked him on film, and then I watched him live in the Holiday Bowl. This guy is phenomenal. I believe he is the second-best quarterback in college football. He should be the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft. The dude is amazing. He’s kind of a mini-Josh Allen. We’ve got a mini-Patrick Mahomes in Caleb Williams, and we’ve got a mini-Josh Allen in Drake Maye, and that’s why North Carolina is gonna sit right here at No. 21.”
This is pretty consistent with other preseason rankings in terms of where UNC lands. We’ve seen them in the top 25 in almost every ranking that has been released so far.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.