Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young doesn’t necessarily have what you would call a “rah rah” type of personality, at least publicly. What he does have, however, is unflappable leadership. Young’s teammate, starting center Bradley Bozeman, talked glowingly about the No. 1 overall pick when he spoke with media Wednesday night following the team’s Fan Fest activities.
“I couldn’t tell you a time [he was rattled],” said Bozeman. “I think one of the most impressive things is as a rookie first coming in, there’s a lot going on, a lot being thrown at you, a lot in terms of playbook and he comes in and coach gives him the call, he turns around looks at us just pure confidence and just rattles off the call right back to us. He’s come in and just absolutely dominated this role that he’s been in. Everything he’s been asked to do, everything that’s been put on his plate, he’s stepped up to it. He’s done a great job managing it, staying confident, and whenever mistakes happen just moving on to the next play.”
Asked about Young’s “soft spoken” demeanor, Bozeman countered, “I wouldn’t call him soft spoken at all.” “I’d call him more confident. Just even-keeled and confident. I mean, when he steps in the huddle, everybody shuts up and looks. That tells you a lot. There’s a lot of huddles I’ve been in where some people are talking side conversations about the play that happened before. When he steps in, it’s silent.”
That take charge mentality has been on full display off the field as well as the Alabama product has even taken over some meetings. “I think it was day four or five of camp and we sat down and went over exotic looks as an offense and he ran the meeting. He understands it. He gets it. He knows what he wants to do. He knows how he wants to do it. But he’s also not the cocky guy that’s like ‘it’s my way’ we talk through things, we get through things and figure it all out.”
The glowing report follows several comments by coaches and other teammates about how the rookie is adjusting to the NFL level. It comes as no surprise for a player that has seemingly been groomed to be QB1 for the greater part of his young life. There are seven more practices before the Panthers break camp after joint practices with the New York Jets.
