Bryce Young describes what it means to be named Carolina Panthers starting QB
Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich declared Bryce Young the winner of the team’s quarterback competition while speaking with reporters during training camp Wednesday.
Reich’s decision comes as no surprise, as the 2023 first overall pick out of Alabama was always expected to be the man under center from the start. Still, however, it’s a big accomplishment for Young, who took pride in officially being named QB1.
“I respect the coaches and I want to do whatever I can to play whatever role it is I’m called on to help the team,” Young said, via ESPN. “So [being called the starter] means a lot. For me, it’s making sure I take things day by day. I want to keep improving, keep growing.”
Expectations are high for the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner to succeed, although it’s nothing he isn’t familiar with coming from a program led by Nick Saban.
“Lofty expectations aren’t something new,” Young said. “I took the same approach in college. I’ve always taken the same approach. I’ve had experience taking the same approach to whatever expectations are. Whatever people are talking about, it is what it is.
“It’s stuff that I can’t control, and making sure that my teammates, my coaches, what we set in the building, that’s who I listen to. That’s the expectations that we come up with together and build together as a team, and sticking to that. I’ve had experience doing that in the past. So it’ll be obviously a different level of different challenges, but I’ll keep the same mindset.”
Frank Reich sees Panthers, Bryce Young as a 2- to 4-year project
As for Young maximizing his potential, Reich isn’t concerned if it doesn’t happen right away. Speaking with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, he said it could take four years for Young and the Panthers to meet their full potential. He used some terrific quarterbacks, including a pair of Hall of Famers, to illustrate his point.
“Patrick Mahomes sat on the bench his rookie year,” Reich said. “Peyton Manning was 3–13. Troy Aikman was 1–15. The list goes on and on. So this is a two- to four-year project. It’s a two- to four-year project with every sense of urgency to win every game and make the most of every day. Those things can both be true.”
As for fans who might be concerned the Panthers aren’t focused on winning in the present day, Reich called it “garbage.”
“That’s garbage,” Reich said. “We’re fighting and scratching to win every game, to win our division, to win playoff games. But it’s a two-to four-year project.”