Here’s how this trait of Drake Maye’s from high school is already bleeding into his Patriots play style

Maye used to check the stat book at halftime of his football games, but not for his own sake.

Drake Maye has received glowing remarks from the within the Patriots locker room for his leadership capabilities and quality character early in his NFL career.

An anecdote from his high school football coach is helping shed light on how one of Maye’s selfless character traits is already showing up on Sundays.

The Patriots released a new mini-documentary showcasing Maye’s journey from North Carolina to the NFL, including stories from Maye’s brothers, parents, and former coaches.

In the video, Maye’s high school football coach, Scott Chadwick, tells a story about Maye checking the stat book at halftime of his football games. Only, he wasn’t looking at his completions, passing yards, or touchdowns.

“My middle son was our stat guy, and I said something to him about ‘what’s Drake doing?’,” Chadwick said. “He’s like, ‘dad he’s not looking at his stats, he’s looking to see how many balls each guy has caught in the first half.’ And then he would come over to me and suggest plays where the guys who hadn’t caught a lot of balls could get some balls.

“He was always worried about making sure he kept everybody happy.”

Maye only has one NFL start to his name, but already it appears he’s making that same effort to keep his offensive skill players happy in New England.

The Patriots had a season-high eight different receivers get multiple targets against the Texans, according to PatriotsCLNS’ Taylor Kyles. DeMario Douglas was Maye’s favorite target, getting nine passes thrown in his direction. He, along with Kayshon Boutte, each caught their first career touchdown passes in Maye’s first ever game.

So, certainly Maye is still making just as active of an effort to keep his Patriots teammates happy as he was back in high school.

Maye will look for his first win at the helm of New England’s offense on Sunday as the Patriots take on the Jaguars in London. The game will air at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.