North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is months away from the biggest season of his life, one filled with extra scrutiny and NFL questions, not to mention the everyday expectations that come with leading a program waiting for its breakthrough.

Everyone around Maye knows what awaits him this season as one of the top prospects in the 2024 NFL draft. It is why coach Mack Brown made sure to consult Maye when hiring a new offensive coordinator, why Brown brought in multiple offensive assistants with NFL coaching experience, why Brown has done everything he could think of to ensure Maye will succeed given the stakes.

Maye just shrugs it all off when asked whether he feels pressure going into such a crucial year. In fact, his answer is downright surprising.

"I think with last year, I feel like I had probably more pressure than I feel coming into this year," Maye told ESPN recently. "Last year gave me a lot of confidence as the year went on. The more reps I got, and especially the more games we started winning, I was getting pretty confident."

That answer speaks to not only who Maye is, but how he has responded during an offseason filled with change. Given all the talk about his potential heading into 2023, it is easy to forget that at this point last year, Maye was in the middle of a quarterback competition with Jacolby Criswell — one that was not resolved until fall camp.

It became clear why Maye won the job after the opener against Florida A&M, in which Maye threw for 294 yards and became the first UNC quarterback to throw five touchdowns in his first start. He followed it up with a 352-yard, four-touchdown performance in a wild 63-61 win over Appalachian State that put opposing defenses on notice.