Big-time quarterback high on the Buckeyes

Ohio State is in on a few of the best quarterback prospects in the 2021 recruiting class and one of those is Charlotte (NC) Myers Park product Drake Maye. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound gunslinger was one of a few big-time quarterbacks to attend the Ohio State Student Appreciation Day practice recently.

"It was my second visit, I came up to the Nebraska game last fall," explained Maye. "It was very convenient that I could be up there again and it was a great trip."

The convenience that Maye alluded to is the fact that his brother, University of North Carolina basketball standout Luke Maye, was playing his first two NCAA tournament games in downtown Columbus at Nationwide Arena. This allowed Maye and several members of his family to spend a couple of days visiting Ohio State.

"I got to watch practice and see the environment at practice and I also got a chance to sit down and watch some film with coach Day and coach Yurcich," he stated.

Maye has a longstanding relationship with head coach Ryan Day who was recruiting him long before he took over for Urban Meyer.

"I thought it was great news for me," Maye said of Day getting the head coaching position. "I love coach Day, he's been great. He was the first guy that I saw and met in his office when I went to the (Nebraska) game. To hear he became the head coach, I was excited and pumped."

"He's very knowledgeable," he continued. "He knows the quarterback position unbelievably well and you saw what he did with Haskins. He's a players' coach and he gets you ready for the next level."

With Day being a quarterbacks coach by trade, it adds a little extra boost to Ohio State. Having an offensive-minded head coach is something that Maye sees as a major positive for any program that is recruiting him.

"I personally think it's a huge advantage to have a head coach that is a great quarterbacks guy," he said. "Just taking that into consideration, how coach Day is an elite (quarterbacks) coach, that's a big deal to me."

Maye has also been impressed with new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. Yurcich has a big advocate close to the Maye camp.

"I talked to him a few times when he was at Oklahoma State," Maye explained. "He actually coached one of my good friends (former Oklahoma State and now Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback) Mason Rudolph. I talk to coach Yurcich every week and he's great. Mason thinks the world of coach Yurcich. (Yurcich) helped him get drafted so he must be doing something right."

The way both Yurcich and Day go about things has definitely made an impression so far.

"The way they are throwing the ball right now, it's pretty unbelievable," he said. "Just watching practice and sitting in the meetings, just how they do things, that really stands out to me. I like how coach Yurcich coaches the position and how coach Day goes about things. It's really cool to see how their passing game has developed."

It's very early still for Maye and he is weighing many great options, but Ohio State looks to have serious staying power in his recruitment.

"They are one-hundred percent a contender," he added. "No question about it."

Maye is currently in no rush to decide and doesn't expect to make a decision before the end of his junior season.