Miles Sanders reveals how Bryce Young has performed early on with Panthers

Bryce Young continues to be the talk of the town in Carolina. According to Miles Sanders, who Young will be sharing a backfield with this season, the first overall pick has lived up to expectations through this point of the offseason.

“I don’t know what Nick Saban is doing over there with those Alabama guys, but he’s creating some very sharp guys,” Sanders said during a call-in appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. “I’m looking at him and he’s very sharp with everything. He’s there early, he leaves late.

“When we’re there on the field and I’m talking to him, I tell him to just take it slow with the offense. I very well see that during plays and going against the defense. His decision-making is smart, he doesn’t force anything and his pocket presence is what really stands out to me. And the height doesn’t matter at all. … I like him, and we have a bright future ahead of us.”

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Young is apparently taking to the NFL (albeit on the practice field) quickly. His collegiate achievements and reputation as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft are all anyone needs to know before he takes his first pro snap this fall.

Spending three seasons in Tuscaloosa, Young ended his time at Alabama as the greatest quarterback to ever come out of the program. He finished his career in Tuscaloosa throwing for 8,356 yards and 80 touchdowns — and is fully expected to dominate at the same level in the NFL. 

During his first year of starting experience during the 2021 season he did not disappoint. That season, Young completed 66.9 percent of his pass attempts, throwing for 4,872 yards with 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Young’s dominant 2021 season led to him winning the Heisman Trophy in a landslide with 684 first-place votes. The next closest competitor was Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who garnered 78 first-place votes.

Following his Heisman campaign, Young went on to similarly dominate in 2022 having completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 3,328 yards with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He also added 185 yards and four touchdowns rushing while leading Alabama to a 45-20 victory over Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl.

If Young’s expectations match the product on the field, the former Crimson Tide superstar is in for a long, fruitful career in Carolina.