NC State defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tony Gibson isn’t a stranger in facing talented quarterbacks.
Gibson has coached at West Virginia (two stints), Michigan, Pittsburgh, Arizona and NC State. With the Wolfpack, he has put together game plans for future first-round pick Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh, third-round pick Malik Willis of Liberty and fifth-round pick Sam Howell of North Carolina.
It’s safe to say that Gibson has helped game-plan against numerous quarterbacks who became future NFL players. Now, he has another challenge in facing North Carolina redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye on Friday. The 6-4 1/2, 220-pound Maye is an NFL lock barring injury. He has gone 269-of-391 passing for 3,614 yards, 34 touchdowns and four interceptions, plus leads the Tar Heels with 147 carries for 597 yards and five scores.
“It is jus his poise and arm strength, his poise in the pocket and he doesn’t get rattled,” Gibson said. “People send the house at him and he’ll stand in there and make a throw or just out-run him. He’s well ahead of his age right now.”
The most famous of the players Gibson battled against is arguably Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes played at Texas Tech when Gibson was at West Virginia.
The Mountaineers defeated Mahomes and the Red Raiders in both 2015 and 2016, with Gibson as defensive coordinator. Mahomes threw 496 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in the two meetings.
Other quarterbacks of note included Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Mayfield played at Texas Tech and Oklahoma, and Murray at Oklahoma.
"I don't get to watch them a lot [in the NFL], but Patrick Mahomes obviously is the one that is the latest," Gibson said. "Kyler Murray, we faced a bunch of them in the Big 12 that are doing big things in the NFL."
Digging deeper, some other star quarterbacks Gibson coached against were Kirk Cousins at Michigan State, Teddy Bridgewater and Brian Brohm at Louisville, Geno Smith at West Virginia, Matt Barkley at USC and Marcus Mariota at Oregon. The list is lengthy.
NC State coach Dave Doeren is also no stranger to quality quarterback play, whether it is how own quarterbacks, or facing future first-round picks such as Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson at Clemson.
Doeren knows Maye will be a stiff challenge to slow down.
“I think Maye is really playing good football at quarterback,” Doeren said. “He is taking care of the ball, running well and is there leading rusher.
“As good as the offense was with Sam, he’s taking it to a different place.”
Maye, like many in the class of 2021 in the state of North Carolina, didn’t play his senior year, which maybe affected how he was ultimately ranked and viewed. He had a terrific junior year, throwing for 3,512 yards, 50 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 13 games for Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park. He also rushed for 201 yards and five touchdowns. Rivals.com had Maye as a four-star prospect and No. 147 overall in the country.
Maye was able to throw to future NC State wide receiver Porter Rooks and Texas A&M-bound receiver Muhsin Muhammed III at Myers Park.
Maye’s lone blemish his senior year was falling in the NCHSAA 4A playoffs 35-32 to Rockingham (N.C.) Richmond County on Nov. 29, 2021. Future UNC teammate Caleb Hood was the quarterback for Richmond County, and his favorite target was current NC State wide receiver Jakolbe Baldwin, who caught six passes for 124 yards. Current Wolfpack offensive lineman Jaleel Davis anchored the offense line.
“Maye was a really good player in high school and a good basketball player too,” Doeren said. “He has good spatial awareness, body-control balance and he’s faster and quicker than people give him credit.”
NC State had offered Maye, but there was little doubt on what in-state college he would chose. However. he first verbally committed to Alabama on July 17, 2019, and eventually decommitted March 6, 2020. There was no drama in picking North Carolina after the decommitment.
NC State offensive coordinator Tim Beck was at Texas when Maye went through his first recruitment leading up to the Crimson Tide commitment. NCSU started the year with high hopes due to redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary. Those hopes were dashed when Leary got hurt Oct. 8 against Florida State. Freshman quarterback MJ Morris created short-lived excitement, but then he got hurt against Boston College on Nov. 12.
Beck described this past Tuesday, many of the traits he looks for in a quarterback when recruiting.
“Toughness No. 1, intelligence No. 2 and I think arm talent and his ability to make plays,” Beck said. “You have to have good feet to make plays.”
NC State sixth-year tackle Bryson Speas has played with Leary and Morris at NC State, and Tennessee start quarterback Hendon Hooker while at Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley.
Speas said there are certain aspects he looks for in his quarterback, which could be redshirt freshman Ben Finley this Friday.
“It is executing the game plan the coaches give them,” Speas said. “Great quarterbacks always take the game plan, take it to practice and take it the game field and be successful with it.”
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