Drake Maye didn’t set out to become a poster boy for loyalty, virtue and all that’s good about college athletics.

It happened organically through his continued denial of rumors that just won’t go away.

The North Carolina quarterback took to social media again last week to tell the world that he can’t be bought following a comment by Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi that 2 unnamed schools had offered him $5 million in NIL money to transfer.

“It wouldn’t sit right, especially with all my family,” he wrote. “Switching it up after everything the Mayes went through wouldn’t represent what the university means to me. It’d mess up the mojo and all we’ve built there. That Carolina blue is special. There’s no other color in the world that meaningful.”

Maye’s family history in Chapel Hill is well documented.

His father Mark also played quarterback for the Tar Heels and his older brother Luke hit one of the most famous shots in UNC’s storied basketball history on the way to a national championship in 2017. Younger brother Beau is currently a walk-on with the basketball team, in addition to being Drake’s roommate.

He isn’t going anywhere. At least until he becomes NFL draft-eligible at the end of next season.

Maye’s staunch loyalty to the Tar Heels and the reasoning behind it has cast him in a highly favorable light, especially in comparison to others – including some former teammates – that have taken the money and run straight to the transfer portal to cash in on better deals.

It has catapulted him from being just the face of the franchise at UNC to a leading candidate to become the face of college football in 2023. But it’s a status he can’t attain by simply taking a principled stand and Tweeting about it with a few strokes on a computer keyboard.

He’s going to have to do it with his talented right arm, starting Wednesday night against Oregon at the Holiday Bowl.

Maye could use a strong performance after a late-season slump that took some of the shine off a record-setting freshman campaign that saw him earn ACC Rookie and Player of the Year honors while briefly injecting himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation.

So can the Tar Heels, who have dropped 3 straight – including a 39-10 blowout at the hands of Clemson in the ACC title game – since starting the year at 9-1.

Maye posted his 3 lowest passing yardage totals in those losses to Georgia Tech, NC State and the Tigers, while throwing 4 of his 7 interceptions and only 1 of his 35 touchdowns. 

It would be unfair to pin all the blame for the stumble to the finish line on Maye, especially on a team whose defense ranked dead last in the ACC in scoring and yardage allowed and an offensive line that allowed 38 sacks. 

But as he knows all too well, scrutiny comes with playing quarterback.

He’ll have an opportunity to erase the memory of his late dropoff and kick-start the Heisman hype machine again by putting up some big numbers and leading his team to a win against a nationally recognized opponent on prime-time television.

Even without favorite receiver Josh Downs, who has opted out of the Holiday Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft, and offensive coordinator Phil Longo, who left for Wisconsin, there’s a good chance that could happen against an Oregon defense that ranks 7th in the Pac-12 and 79th nationally against the pass.  

This isn’t going to be a defensive struggle.

Because the Ducks have a prolific, high-profile quarterback of their own in Bo Nix and an offense that averages 40 points per game, Wednesday’s contest at Petco Park promises to be one of the most entertaining of the bowl schedule.

It could potentially threaten the Holiday Bowl scoring record set in 1980 in BYU’s 46-45 win against SMU. The over/under of 73.5 points is the highest among this year’s 41 postseason games.

“Coming into the game with the expectations of how great these 2 are, people know who they are, this might be the best quarterback matchup we’ve ever had,” Holiday Bowl CEO Mark Neville told the San Diego Union. “I don’t know that we’ve had 1 this big before.”

That’s saying something considering that the list of quarterbacks to have played in Neville’s bowl includes Heisman winner Ty Detmer, Hall of Famer Steve Young and Super Bowl champion Aaron Rodgers.

It’s just the kind of stage on which a golden boy with a golden arm can enhance and expand an already exemplary brand. While at the same time setting himself up to strike gold in next year’s draft for a payday that could make the $5 million in NIL money Narduzzi suggested seem like pocket change.