It is not every day that North Carolina football flips a commitment from Alabama, but Drake Maye‘s decision to switch his commitment from the Crimson Tide to the Tar Heels is about more than UNC beating Bama for a heralded recruit.

There were reasons why Carolina had an edge. Maye has countless ties to UNC. His father played quarterback at North Carolina and his brother played basketball for the Tar Heels. He is from the Charlotte area and has a close relationship with many of the coaches, including Dre Bly, who coached at Myers Park before coming to UNC. Meanwhile, Alabama signed 2020 five-star quarterback Bryce Young, who is already on campus and could very well be Alabama’s starting quarterback for the next three or four seasons.

Since taking over the program a year and a half ago, Mack Brown and his staff have demonstrated a turnaround on the recruiting trail and on the field, giving a glimpse of the potential that Brown is selling. Carolina’s offense is a quarterback’s dream and seeing what Sam Howell did in his first year has to be a huge selling point for all future quarterback prospects.

So UNC flipping Maye from Alabama is less about the Tide and more about the Heels.

It continues an uptick in recruiting and the momentum Carolina has in the 2021 class. It also shows that the the Tar Heels can indeed keep the best players in the state, something previous regimes haven’t been able to do. UNC now already has a commitment from the No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 players in the state of North Carolina — and a total of six of the state’s top 15-ranked prospects — for the 2021 class.

“To me this is less about winning a head-to-head with Alabama. With Bryce Young in the class above him, it was always going to be a challenge for Alabama to hang on to Drake,” 247Sports Director Scouting Barton Simmons told Inside Carolina. “It’s more about UNC making a statement nationally. Drake had emerged as one of the premier passers in this class and UNC gets him. I think it’s a statement about how a prospect of that ilk feels about the future of Carolina football and it’s a statement about how difficult it’s going to be moving forward for national powers to go into North Carolina and beat Mack Brown. Maybe most importantly, this is a commitment that offers at least a five-year plan of stability at quarterback between Maye and Howell before him.”

The wall is being built around the state of North Carolina. On Tuesday night four-star defensive end Keeshawn Silver committed to UNC just days after releasing a top seven that included Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Florida, and Oregon. It’s becoming harder and harder for in-state prospects to say “no” to Mack Brown and Carolina.

“As a football program, anytime your state has a blue-chip quarterback, that prospect has to be your No. 1 priority,” Inside Carolina Recruiting Analyst Don Callahan said. “And UNC treated it that way, keeping its focus on Maye and not recruiting many other quarterbacks in the class regardless of his commitment to Alabama. Despite the family connections, UNC flipping a football recruit from Alabama speaks volumes for the recruiting level the Heels are operating at now.”

Maye becomes UNC’s seventh commitment for the 2021 class. All of UNC’s commitments are from the state of North Carolina and six have a four-star rating. The Tar Heels’ 2021 class is now ranked No. 6 in the nation and the No. 3 in the ACC.

But adding Maye is a little different. The quarterback is often the leader of the recruiting class. It adds offensive security to the program for years to come and can benefit not only the current recruiting classes but future ones. Offensive skill players want to play for an elite quarterback, and offensive linemen want to block for one. It is no secret that the quarterback is the most important player for a college football team. And Maye is now the highest-ranked prospect in UNC’s four-star-rich 2021 class.

“North Carolina adding Drake Maye to its 2021 class is the second time in three recruiting cycles that the Tar Heels have landed arguably the top quarterback prospect in the country,” 247Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong told Inside Carolina. “It absolutely solidifies a quarterback room that appeared in ruins when Mack Brown arrived. Sam Howell, Jacolby Criswell and Maye would be a very competitive quarterback room. Maye’s talent is obvious, he’s a terrific decision maker and I think he’s still evolving. I love his potential. Championships are won with who you have at quarterback and your depth and ability to get to the quarterback from the defensive line. With Maye now on board, the Tar Heels are recruiting both positions collectively as well as any program in the country.”

Maye’s commitment is another big step for the resurgence of UNC football under Coach Brown. The Tar Heels went 7-6 in year one under Brown and won their last three games. They are set for an improved 2020 season and are now poised for a top 15 class after signing the No. 19 class last cycle.