Matt Corral 'in it for the long haul' with Carolina Panthers as he restarts NFL career

A current Ole Miss quarterback might have a position battle on their hands this summer while former Rebel Matt Corral is navigating the same situation in the NFL.

A rookie season ended prematurely when Corral suffered a Lisfranc injury during preseason camp last year and was on the shelf before Week 1. Corral then sat out his entire first year in the NFL and the future prospects of his time with Carolina started to get only dimmer after the Panthers first pick in last month’s NFL Draft.

Carolina secured the No. 1 overall draft selection and wasted no time with it, picking former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young as the new face of the franchise.

Corral was quickly bumped down to at least No. 2 on the depth chart but then the signing of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton only shuffled Corral further down.

He is at the Panthers’ OTA workouts this week and taking this new challenge head on.

“It was a rough year,” Corral told local reporters this week. “But, you got to have perspective and it’s all about controlling what you can control. Honestly, that’s whats made me happy. Getting another opportunity to be here and playing for the Carolina Panthers is, I’m blessed. …I’m in it for the long haul. When that opportunity comes I’ll be ready.”

Taking a new perspective on the situation is where Corral is showing the most growth to himself and to Panthers first-year head coach Frank Reich.

“If it was up to me I don’t want to be traded,” Corral said.

When Young was taken by the Panthers on the first night of the draft Corral took to social media and made a post many assumed had to do with Young coming in to take the quarterback spot a year after Corral was drafted.

Corral denied, saying the post was not “football related” and about personal stuff going on in his life and that he and Young have a close relationship, dating back to when the pair grew up in the Southern California area.

Still, Corral is coming to terms and working to grasp he is not the star of the show anymore as it was back during his Ole Miss days.

When Corral arrived in Charlotte last summer after being drafted in the third round he was in a quarterback room with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. Walking into the facility and being automatically named QB1 was not going to happen.

Then the foot injury derailed everything.

“I would definitely say my patience for myself and being able to have that perspective,” Corral said when asked what has changed this past year. “It’s hard. It’s hard for me when, you know, you go to college. You go to running the show and now there’s a bit of a learning curve. You get hurt last year and, again, uncontrollable, and then we get a new coach. A new staff. …Rolling with the punches, controlling what I can control.”

This season may come with a bit of a higher comfort level for Corral as he is once again reunited with a former teammate.

Former Ole Miss receiver Jonathan Mingo was selected by the Panthers as the 39th overall pick in this year’s draft and give Corral a former favorite target of his.

Seeing a familiar face throughout the Panthers facility and practice field is helping Corral with this new approach of perspective.

“I remembered Mingo when he first came in (to Ole Miss). He was built the same,” Corral said. “Great athlete, physical receiver and just a team player. His freshman year he didn’t get the ball a lot but he was still a key guy. He gets older, gets the ball more and then I leave. Now he’s the number one guy. He stayed in line, waited his turn and he got what he deserved. I’m happy for him and I’m happy he got to come here and be with me.”