Drake Maye's high school photo gets called out by ex-NFL great as secret to success

The New England Patriots quarterback is playing at an MVP level in only his second season. Greg Olsen points out a reason growing up.

Nov 2, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) warms up prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Gillette Stadium. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Drake Maye hype is at an all-time high after the New England Patriots took care of business on Thursday Night Football to be the first NFL team to get to nine wins.

The second-year quarterback is now one of the favorites for league MVP after beating their struggling AFC East rival New York Jets, who are still desperate for a franchise QB1, and the team that enjoyed six Super Bowls with the GOAT Tom Brady is now dreaming of more with the 23-year-old North Carolina Tar Heels product.

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Nov. 13, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws a pass against the New York Jets in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The irony that Bill Belichick, who won all of those Lombardi Trophies with Brady, minus the one the three-time MVP added with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, landed at UNC is not lost on many New England fans. So far, they've made out exponentially better in that exchange.

Secret to Drake Maye's success

Nov. 9, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) shake hands following a game at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Speaking of GOATs, former two-time All Pro tight end and popular NFL analyst Greg Olsen, probably more so than his Fox Sports $375 million No. 1 peer Brady, shared a photo from an NBC Sports Boston feature of Maye in high school with seven-time national champion Nick Saban, and his then offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, watching in the crowd.

Yet it wasn't to see him play football. It was basketball, where the original Alabama commit also excelled.

Nov. 13, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) warms up before the game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

"Dear young athletes," Olsen wrote in the tweet going viral. "Keep this photo saved to your phone and show the next person who says you have to focus on one sport in HS. The amount of kids I’ve heard say 'I can’t risk getting hurt' or 'my coach won’t let me' drives me crazy. You get one shot to be a HS athlete.

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Dear young athletes- keep this photo saved to your phone and show the next person who says you have to focus on one sport in HS.

The amount of kids I’ve heard say “I can’t risk getting hurt” or “my coach won’t let me” drives me crazy.

You get one shot to be a HS athlete.… pic.twitter.com/opPXnt3fdR

— Greg Olsen (@gregolsen88) November 14, 2025

It's truly an incredible photo, especially seeing Saban dressed in the crimson blazer and tie. Sarkisian is now of course the head coach for the Texas Longhorns, and Maye ditched these two great coaches for Mack Brown and North Carolina to stay closer to home.

His high school sweetheart turned eventual wife Ann, who also went to UNC, might have been the deciding factor as well.

Kids specializing in one sport is always hotly debated

Nov. 9, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) warms up before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

It's the classic dilemma as old as time — nature vs. nurture

Die-hard Patriots fan Bill Simmons always points out that it's being the youngest of four brothers that instilled a natural chip on his shoulder to be great.

Plenty professional athletes specialized in one sport. See Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in golf.

Maybe there is something to be said though for Olsen's argument. Patrick Mahomes wanted to play baseball like his dad Pat, who was an MLB pitcher. The two-time MVP credits baseball and basketball for turning him into a generational NFL quarterback.

Nov. 8, 2025; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech alumnus and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Brigham Young Cougars at Jones AT&T Stadium. | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic credits his amazing passing abilities to water polo of all sports.

In the end, maybe there is no clear path since it's the nature that only needed to be cultivated.

But as far as having more fun, we side with Olsen.

Nov. 19, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Former Panther and now announcer Greg Olsen during pregame warm ups between the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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