Rookie QB Bryce Young: ‘I’ve asked a million questions’

In January, the Carolina Panthers tabbed Frank Reich to become their head coach after Matt Rhule had been fired five games into 2022 and secondary coach Steve Wilks finished the season at the helm.
Before a coaching career that includes five seasons guiding the Indianapolis Colts, Reich spent 14 years as an NFL quarterback.
In February, Reich hired Josh McCown as the Panthers’ quarterbacks coach. McCown entered coaching with 18 seasons as an NFL quarterback.
In March, Carolina signed free-agent Andy Dalton, putting the QB in line for a 13th NFL season.
In April, the Panthers chose Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and wrapped the Alabama All-American in the assembled security blanket of NFL QB experience.
“So many years of experience and wisdom, and for me as a young guy, I just do my best to soak all that in,” Young said on Saturday when NFL Network visited Carolina’s training camp. “You ask anyone in the room, especially Andy, I’ve asked him a million questions. And that’s what I’m trying do. I’m asking all the questions that come into my head, as many as possible, because I know there’s nothing I could say, nothing I could ask that they not just have an opinion about but they’ve lived, they’ve experienced it.
“Most of the time, they have multiple accounts to specific things that I ask. And for me being a young guy who doesn’t have any experience in the league at all, I’m just trying to pick their brains, learn from what they’re telling me from their experience. And, again, as a young guy having that in the quarterback room has helped me tremendously.”
Reich and McCown spent most of their careers as backups. Reich started 22 games. McCown started 76 and had three seasons with at least 10 starts.
In contrast, Dalton is a three-time Pro Bowler who has started 162 of his 166 NFL regular-season appearances as well as four playoff games.
“Having (Reich) in the room, just the entire quarterback room and offensive staff in general, for me, I’ve been able to learn so much from them in just this short time period,” Young said. “I’m super excited to continue growing and learning under them. Having coach Reich there, (offensive coordinator Thomas Brown), Josh, everyone there in the room, every day I’m going into the meetings and learning something new. They have so many years of wisdom and experience and success, just being able to get those nuggets and get those thought processes that they have about concepts that I’ve seen and new ones, it’s really great for me.”
The Panthers held their first full-team practice of training camp this week at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
“I really didn’t know what to expect coming in,” Young said. “It’s a new environment, something I’d never done before – first training camp. I mean, it’s been great. Just being able to be here and bond with the teammates, to be able to get away for a little bit and just focus on ball and coming together as a team, it’s been great. It’s been a great atmosphere here, a great environment. The fans, they’ve come out, and just the support we all feel as a team has been really great. I’ve been having a blast.”
Carolina kicks off its three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 12 against the New York Jets. The Panthers also play the New York Giants on Aug. 18 and Detroit Lions on Aug. 25.
On Saturday, Carolina announced the signing of quarterback Jake Luton. Reich said he didn’t expect to play Dalton during the preseason, leaving Young and Matt Corral to handle all the snaps before Saturday’s signing.
A sixth-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, Luton started three games for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie. He’s also been on the rosters of the Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.