Four-star quarterback Drake Maye, the No. 7 pro-style signal caller in the 2021 class, went against the family grain on Wednesday and committed to Alabama.

“It’s the winning mentality,” he told BamaOnLine of why he’s rolling with the Tide. “I went down there in the spring and then for camp in the summer. I loved it. I sat down with Coach (Nick) Saban, just talked about the winning mentality, it’s all about winning down there. To have Coach Saban say in the 2021 class that I was a big target, it meant a lot to me. I just felt like why not Bama, right? It’s the best place in the country.”

The Cornelius (N.C.) Myers Park product explained why he’s committing now instead of next spring when he originally intended.

“As this quarterback thing goes a lot of these guys make their decisions earlier and earlier,” he said. “I just felt like why not decide now? I’m going to get it out of the way and focus on my high school season. I’m excited. We’re going to have a great season. It’s going to be fun.”

Maye is a North Carolina legacy. His father, Mark, played quarterback for the Tar Heels and his older brother, Luke, basketball. Aside from the Tar Heels, the four-star QB held over a dozen scholarship offers.

“It was definitely hard,” Maye said choosing the Tide over UNC. “At the end of the day I’ll still be a fan of Carolina, but it’s Roll Tide now. Coach (Mack) Brown was great. Before Coach Brown got there I wasn’t much looking at Carolina to play football. I want to go to a big school to play football. I think Bama fits that perfectly.”

Tide fans need not worry about where Maye stands moving forward.

“I’m shutting things down,” he said. “ Alabama (visits) only. I’m going to work on my high school season, win a championship.”

An interesting note: Maye’s father, Mark, actually chose North Carolina over Alabama in the 1980’s.

“He tells me he should have gone to Alabama, but he loves Carolina,” Drake said laughing. “He had a good career.”

At 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Maye is rated the No. 108 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings. 247Sports rates Maye the No. 5 pro-style quarterback and the No. 51 overall player.

Stay tuned to BamaOnLine for more details on this breaking story.