This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here.
Mack Brown coached Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for three years at North Carolina. Brown won a national championship at Texas, ranks seventh in career wins and is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
I’ve never seen a more competitive person than Drake Maye.
One day, I walked into the players’ lounge at North Carolina and saw a broken ping-pong paddle on the floor. All the guys were sitting around, laughing. I said, “What’s the deal? Who broke the paddle?”
Well, they all pointed to Drake. Drake looked at me.
“Coach, the tight end beat me,” he said. “Can you believe the tight end beat me? Of course, I had to break the paddle.”
Here’s another great example: I would come back in the summer to watch the players work out. Drake would win every race. Against defensive backs, against everybody, it didn’t matter. I’d say to the defensive backs: “You’re letting a quarterback beat you in a sprint?” But he just took such pride in winning every race. He was a guy who chased perfection, knowing that we can never be perfect. But he still wanted to gain on it every day.
His family is the first family of North Carolina athletics. They’re like the Mannings. His dad was a good college quarterback at North Carolina. His mom was a star basketball player in high school. His oldest brother, Luke, won a basketball championship at North Carolina. The next in line, Cole, also won a national championship, in baseball at Florida. The third brother, Beau, played basketball at North Carolina.
All of them were very competitive with Drake growing up. To this day, they compete in pickleball like it’s the national championship. The fact that two of his brothers already had national championship rings was something that drove Drake.
We’d win a big game, and his brothers would just show their national championship rings to him. All right, big boy. You’ve got to get one of these.
In 2021, Drake was a redshirt freshman. None of us knew how good Drake was at that point.
He competed with Jacolby Criswell for the job in the spring. They were pretty much even after spring practice. In fact, Jacolby might have even played better in the spring game. But when I got back in the summer, I pulled the older guys into my office one at a time.
“Who do you think is going to be the quarterback?” I asked.
“Coach, it’s Drake. He’s so competitive.”
That’s how he won the locker room. He was just so tough and competitive. He played hurt. We couldn’t take him out. We couldn’t keep him from practicing, even if he had a sore ankle.
I remember after his first year, he was named the National Freshman of the Year and the ACC Player of the Year. I said to him, “They’re going to put your name in the stadium.”
He said, “Coach, let’s not do that while I’m here. That’s not fair to the other guys. That’s great, and I appreciate it, but I don’t want it up there while I’m playing.”
After the 2022 season, our offensive coordinator left, and I was hiring a new one. At that time, Drake was offered a lot of money to go to other schools. He walked into my office and said, “Coach, I know there are rumors out there. I’m not going anywhere. You signed me. I came here. I’m your quarterback. So don’t you worry about that. It’s not even an issue.”
I said, “I got it. I’ll try to get you some NIL money.”
And he said, “Coach, that’s fine, but I don’t care. I want us to win.”
So I said, “What are you looking for from me and an offensive coordinator?”
Here’s a guy who had just made national freshman of the year. And he said: “I want somebody to work with me on my feet. Sometimes I drift into the pressure. I need to do a better job in the pocket. And I’d like to work on my throwing motion.”
So I said to him: “Well, I’ll tell you what. Why don’t I interview a couple of guys, and I’m going to bring at least two to you. I’m going to let you interview them by yourself after I do. Then we’ll come together to see what’s the best fit for you and our team.”
That’s what we did.
One year, we had to come back and beat Appalachian State in overtime at home. He walked right by me with a little smile on his face and said, “We’re good. You weren’t worried, were you?”
I told him, “Yeah, no, I felt great the entire time.”
He always carried himself with confidence.
Former Texas coach Darrell Royal used to say to me, “When you have it, you’re special.”
I’d ask him, “Coach, what does that mean?”
“Oh, you know what it means. When a guy walks in a room and everybody stops and turns and looks and wants to go over and speak to him and meet him, he’s got it. When he walks on the field, and there’s a minute left in the game, and you’re down by six and you know he’s going to score, he’s got it.”
That was the presence Drake carried. He wanted to be in that position. He wanted to be that guy. Drake had a very strong confidence, but he was also very humble. But he was also very competitive. That’s what made him so special. It’s rare to have all three of those traits.
He’s going to be more driven every step of the way in the NFL. Nothing he did was ever good enough, which is why he’s great. It’s also why I think he will end up winning a Super Bowl — and why I think he’ll end up being one of the best to ever play.
— As told to Jayson Jenks