TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye’s Interview on WEEI on Jones & Mego with Arcand
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Here’s what rookie New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say during his first radio appearance on Jones & Mego with Arcand on WEEI on Monday:
Host Abbreviations:
AJ – Adam Jones
MO – Meghan Ottolini
CA – Christian Arcand
AJ: Drake, how are we doing? Welcome to New England:
“What’s going on, Adam? What’s going on, Meg? You all doing all right? Thanks for having me on. I just got back home a couple of days ago over the weekend from my visit there, up there in Foxborough. I had a good time up there and just glad to get going here in a few weeks.”
AJ: Okay, so maybe you just answered what I was about to ask, but I wanted to know if you were already back in North Carolina or if you were going to maybe be here to take in a playoff game in Boston. You were drafted Thursday, you were at Gillette on Friday, you’re now back home. What have the last few days been like for you, that whole experience?
“Yeah, it’s been awesome. I think that draft night is something I always remember. And then getting there to Foxborough, getting to meet the coaches, and the front office, and see everybody around the organization was sweet. Something that was awesome. To have my brothers and my girlfriend tag along as well. They were nice to do that. So, yeah, maybe stay tuned for something to come out there. And obviously, you got the Bruins in the playoffs and the Celtics. So stay tuned for possibly something. But, back home now and just getting ready for rookie minicamp, getting ready for offseason program. Got to get ready to play some football now.”
MO: Welcome to New England, Drake. I’m wondering, now that you’ve walked around Gillette Stadium, it seems like a couple of times, there’s a little video that came out of you seeing your new locker in the locker room. What about the facilities in Gillette Stadium itself jumped out to you in your first couple of visits?
“I think just Gillette Stadium seeing it for the first time. Obviously, your name up there on the billboard, that new billboard Mr. Kraft was talking about, he said it’s one of the biggest in the whole world, I think he mentioned about stadiums. That’s pretty sweet. Just seeing that and seeing all the upgrades they did to the stadium. I think the best thing about Gillette is how close the facility is. It’s really, Mr. Kraft talked about, it’s owned by him. So having the facility with the stadium right next door, everything you need in one spot is awesome. I think it’s great for players and great for me to get some extra work and be there for practice or games. It’s all right there. It’s kind of been one of the coolest things.”
CA: All right, Drake, I know we’re a long way off from knowing the answer to this maybe, but do you want to start day one? And have you had any conversations about what your track is going to be towards doing that in mini camp or beyond that?
“I think that’s obviously the goal for myself and any quarterback coming into the NFL. But also, I think it’s a great opportunity for me to get in there and learn from Jacoby, learn from the older guys, the other vets around there, and just put my best foot forward. I think for me, just wanted to earn the respect of the guys and get to know them first. But obviously, all that stuff on the field will come after that. So I’m looking forward to help the Patriots any way [I can]. Obviously, that’s the goal, but ready for anything that happens. I think one of the best things about being a 21-year-old coming in there is get ready to learn and just soak it all in. And if I’m the best guy, I think Coach Mayo kind of said that, he said that publicly, if the best guy is going to play. So if it happens to be me, I’m ready to go and if it’s not, I’m going to prepare like it and compete and learn as much as I can from the other guys to get ready to do that.”
CA: You mentioned getting to know your teammates. Have you made any plans to start throwing with any of your wide receivers or tight ends, anything like that?
“Yeah, just talking with Ja’Lynn [Polk] and Javon [Baker], and I was just FaceTimeming Jaheim [Bell]. So I’ve gotten a bunch of guys. I got to know them, texted them all, reached out. So I think the biggest thing is me going for rookie mini-camp. We’ve got to get going. I think one of the best things about it, kind of bringing us in before is getting us all together and creating relationships and getting to know each other before we all kind of get mingled in with the whole squad. So definitely looking forward to meeting those guys and other great players. So definitely looking forward to throwing with them and seeing what it’s like.”
AJ: So you mentioned getting relationships with some of these players. You had a prior relationship with Javon Baker, right?
“Yeah. So he was committed to Alabama. When I was committed there, he was a year ahead of me. But obviously, saw him at some of the camps. Got to know him, played him in seven on seven in high school football. He was a big time recruit from Atlanta, so got to know Javon pretty well.”
AJ: So Why did you initially commit to Alabama, and why did you end up decommitting and committing to North Carolina?
“Yeah. So Coach Saban, sitting in his office when I was a sophomore in high school, anytime that he says, ‘You know, Drake, you’re our guy. We want you to be our guy.’ It’s pretty hard to turn that down. And at that time, North Carolina was kind of in the rough years, kind of the latter years of 2017, 2018 was some rough years for North Carolina football. So really, Alabama, it was hard to turn down that. But once Coach [Mack] Brown came back, and I saw one of my good friends, Sam Howell, go there his freshman year and light it up, I really just didn’t want to miss out on that and I think either way, it could have probably turned out well. But also, Bryce [Young] was there at the same time. So I think I made the right decision of going North Carolina. Both my parents went there and had brothers go there. So kind of the whole family lineage is hard to pass that up.”
MO: Drake, you spoke about Jacoby Brisset just a couple of minutes ago. Joe Milton is also anticipated to be part of your quarterback room. As a rookie coming in, how do you see yourself fitting into that room? And I guess a rising tide lifts all boats, but how do you feel like you would like the dynamic in that quarterback room to be with somebody in your own class and then a vet like Jacoby Brissette?
“Yeah, I think just me on Jacoby. I think me and Joe will come in there ready to compete. We have to know Joe well through some of the Manning [Passing] Camp and at the Combine. So, Joe’s the man. I’m a big fan of Joe, and I’m looking forward to just competing with each other. It’s the biggest thing, they make it a competitive room and energy, high energy. I think we all bring that – big personalities, all three of us. So ready to kind of showcase that, see how the room shakes out, and just have fun in there. The best thing about quarterbacks is we keep it light, and once we’re on the field, man, we’re competitors. So that’s what I think all three of us can share.”
CA: Drake, I was wondering, since the Patriots drafted so many offensive players, and since you’re going to be, we think anyway, a big part of the offense, after you were drafted for the day two and day three guys, did anybody talk to you about any of the picks that were coming up or sort of get your perspective on some of these guys since maybe you played against them?
“Yeah, they were keying me in on what they were thinking before they selected them. So I think as a Rookie quarterback, you don’t expect to have much to say. So no, I think, obviously, all the players are selected. Layden [Robinson] and Caedan [Wallace]. And I think all those guys watching their film, checking out their tape. After you’re drafted, you always want to go check out their tape. They’re great picks. I reached out to both of them. So I just try to reach out to everybody and obviously play against Marcellas [Dial] from South Carolina. So I got to know a lot of these guys, like you said. So I think they paid a lot of money and as a GM and a long time doing this stuff. I think, in a way, my opinion wouldn’t mean much. So no, I think just trusting them and ready to get to work with anybody.”
AJ: Talking to Drake May, Patriots quarterback, joining us here on Jones and Mego with Arcand on WEEI. You’re good friends with former teammate, Sam Howell. You just mentioned his name. I also read you’re family friends with Mason Rudolf. Is that right?
“Yeah. So his dad and my dad roomed in college together and played football at North Carolina together.”
AJ: So what have they told you? Specifically about making that transition to the next level?
“Yeah, I think Mason and Sam, the biggest thing is just be myself. They’ve been great with that. And just come in there and it’s just the beginning mindset. You got a lot of work to do, and it doesn’t come easy. It’s a tough league. It’s tough to have success in this league. So just put the work in. And like I said, just be myself and learn from the older guys. They’ve been great two guys, two quarterbacks that shared the same position from the same area I grew up in. So a lot of contact with them and a lot of questions I could ask them, a lot of advice they’ve given me on just being myself, go in there and be ready to learn and grow. And just come in there, and at the end of the day, find time away from football. Whether it’s people to hang out with in your inner circle or just external activities that get your mind off it because there’s so much time with how long the season is of getting your mind off it and enjoying something outside of football to get your mind away from it.”
MO: Drake, it sounded earlier like you hinted that you might be coming back here for a playoff game. Both teams in the playoffs here in New England right now, are you more of a hockey guy or a basketball guy when it comes to being a fan?
“I’m a big basketball fan. But I’ve gotten I went to these going to college in Chapel Hill, Raleigh is right down the road. So the Hurricanes, I got to see some of their games, and hockey is a great sport. So I’ve been a huge basketball fan, but hockey is kind of growing on my list. So I think it’d be great to get a chance to get out to either Bruins game or a Celtics. So I’ll call myself up. Maybe courtside.”
MO: You know somebody who has courtside seats.
“Yeah, that’d be sweet too. I think sitting courtside, that’s one of the best things. So I hope I find a way. We’ll see. But I like to compare myself as off-brand Jason Tatum in my basketball comparison. So to meet him, and some of the guys would be pretty sweet.”
AJ: Well, hopefully you hit more shots at the end of games. I was watching an old feature of you on College Game Day, and this includes your brothers in there. You mentioned a big hoops family, your brother Luke, playing professionally in Japan, if I’m not mistaken. But I watched this feature, and your mother in the game day feature said that the competition between the brothers is a good thing, but that it can, “get out of hand.” Do you have any examples of it getting out of hand with the May brothers in your youth?
“Yeah, I got an example. My brother Bo, it was during football season in high school. He was a senior, I was a junior, and we were playing two-on-two basketball in the driveway one weekend, probably after one of my games on a Friday night, and we were playing basketball. And Bo, he got knocked down, to say the least, by my oldest brother Luke, and ended up breaking both his elbows, at the same time. But he only had to wear a cast, only had to wear a sling on one of them. So he was a senior. He got senior in high school and had to navigate that. So I think after that, that was kind of the last straw of physicality things. From there, now we keep it in pickleball and golf. But the Bo took a bad fall, and I just thank the Lord, it wasn’t me during football season.”
Okay, so no broken bone. You didn’t have any broken bones from the brothers growing up.
“Yeah, I’ve been fortunate. I’ve been fortunate not to have any injuries yet, but I’m sure if we did something, it’d come because none of us want to lose.”
Okay. Well, Drake Maye, we’re very excited to talk to you here all football season on WEEI. I’ll tell you, my mother-in-law is also very excited. She’s very excited about this specific interview. They live in Belmont, so they live in the Charlotte area. So I know that you’re a big story down there right now after being a very high draft pick. So she’s very excited as well.
“That’s awesome. Yeah, Belmont, right down – about 45 minutes from my hometown. So I know the Charlotte area has been great. Great supporters of me. So just happy to be from hometown that loves sports.”
Maybe we’re hanging out this summer. All right, Drake May, I appreciate the time. Thanks so much.
“Thank you all. Thank you all. Go Pats. Thank you all for having me on.”
Here’s the full interview below:
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done manually via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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