Dave Canales ‘really pleased’ with Bryce Young at practice

Dave Canales was brought to Carolina with the idea of helping cultivate Bryce Young’s talent, and things are going smooth thus far for the Panthers.

Speaking with the media, the new Panthers head coach took some time to explain where Young stands, as far as learning the playbook and getting ready for his sophomore season, and it’s evident Canales is a believer in Young’s abilities.

“He’s doing fantastic with it,” Canales said, regarding Young picking up the playbook. “The way that we do it is part to whole, really. So, we teach our concepts. Just for an example, say we have a pass concept. We’re not going to use six different formations today, to run this concept. As it becomes something really good that we’re effective at, we’ll start to build it out. For us, the formations are pretty vanilla, so that we can just teach the concept, and what we want out of each route. The depth, the footwork for Bryce. … So that’s the approach right now. So as I expect him to do, he’s really mastered that part of it.

“The run game, as well. Just starting off with like, the core of what our run game looks like, so that centers can make the right calls. The backs can press it properly, and the quarterbacks can get us to the right run versus the different looks. So, really pleased.”

As for the way Young is actually throwing the football, Canales was impressed with his accuracy throughout the last month and chance, and the way Young is hitting his wide receivers in different levels of the passing game.

“Deep ball, short intermediate, he’s just a really accurate passer,” Canales added. “I think one of the things that I love is, I can really focus in on his footwork and his base, and the mechanics of where his eyes are at, when I know the balls hitting the receivers. So, for the last couple of weeks, been throwing on air, I don’t have to worry about where the ball is going.

“He’s very accurate, and I know that — they’re pros, right? So people have this expectation that quarterbacks are accurate, but I know that some guys are more accurate than others, so I think it’s the ability of Bryce to be able to throw to different body types, different speeds, different quickness at the top of routes. So I’m really impressed with that part of it.”

Alas, it’s evident that Dave Canales is a believer in Bryce Young, and it’s part of the reason why he took the job in Carolina. We’ll see if the Panthers can surprise some people and make some noise in 2024 under their coach’s new energy, and Young’s fresh focus.