Bryce Young Carolina Panthers Quarterback reflects on playoff run, finally hitting his stride, opens up on the one night that changed his mindset, pressures of being the No. 1 NFL pick , bond with CJ Stroud and why he will never eat raccoon.

Bryce Young has always been a winner. He was one of the nation's top recruits at one of its best high school programs. He won the Heisman at Alabama under Nick Saban, and he was the NFL's number one overall pick to the Carolina Panthers. So it's crazy to think that he was driving down a highway with no destination after being benched early in his second year for Andy Dalton. Bryce takes us back to the meeting when he got the news, how the news was delivered, also how he took it, and the promise he made himself once it finally settled in. And there are some things that he'd like to change about being a rookie signal caller and the way that he approached leadership. He gives advice to his younger self just so he knows he wouldn't make that mistake again. He talks about all the important relationships, the Carolina fans, Carolina's head coach, and Carolina's only MVP, Cam Newton. We even got into the evolution of his life with his wonderful parents. And we tried to push him on relationships, but my dog say he keeps his private life private. But just being real, I can't help but root for Bryce Young. And after this sit down with me, Channing, and Freddie T, if you weren't already a Bryce Young fan, I think you'll pivot to being one. I'm a people feeling militant. Ooh, that one look like something. Boy, I got pearls on. What's up, baby? Good to see you. My dog. Good to see you, boy. Yes, sir, man. Always. No, it feels like yesterday, man, we were at your parents' house. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Before the draft, time flies. Bryce Young, welcome to The Pivot. This is Fred Taylor, Channing Crowder, I'm Ryan Clark. Pivot fam, thank you for pivoting with us. This is the second time we've pivoted. The second time, but I think this might be a first. I think it's the edge of eating you up, RC. Oh, hey. Tatum, y'all was close. You and JT was close, but RC. First off, you cannot turn me against Bryce, so it doesn't matter. Not a competition. Yeah, that's my dog, so... You can all shine. Yeah, why can't we all... That's the easy out, though, baby. Yeah, why can't we all be in a good place, baby? You know what I'm saying? The type of guys are these, man. Bryce, bro, man, first off, First off, just excited for you to be able to show people what Bryce Young, the person and leader, was made of throughout this entire season. But I do want to take us back to last year when you are told that Andy Dalton is going to be the starter and you're no longer the starter. What was that experience like for you? And what did you learn about yourself? That was a place I'd never been at before. Obviously not something that I was, you know, expecting you never think you know things could could go that way turn out that way so you know in the moment obviously it was a lot it was hard it was really difficult at that time obviously you know you're you're working through the motions in real time you're figuring out that like night honestly i drove around like i didn't want to go back home like i just drove for like hours and i just i didn't know where i was going i put atlanta in my uh in my gps like i knew i wasn't gonna go all the way to Atlanta but I was just like I didn't know what was up what was down in that time and as I was driving trying to like clear my mind I made a conscious decision to challenge myself to be as consistent as I could be during that time and to grow from it and that was hard like I had a lot of you know I'm human I had a lot of I was upset I was confused I was mad at myself mad at other like whatever you know I had those those emotions and at that time I'm like one I want to I want to challenge myself to be the same person. Like, I don't want this to change my personality. I don't want to show up to work with bad energy. I don't want to be a bad teammate. Like, I don't want to be, like, I was like, I'm going to be very conscious to be the same person, be kind to everyone. I'll be honest. I'm not the best, like, texter. Like, I'm not great at that. And, you know, obviously people would do that. And, you know, for good games, bad games, you know, everyone knows how, you know, you get a bunch of texts. And sometimes I'm not always the best at, like, And really, in bad moments, I'm really not the best at returning those tips. Most of the time, I don't want to see it. Most of the time, I'm just like, all right, I'm gonna figure this out by myself. And a bunch of people obviously reached out and texted and showed support, which I was super grateful for. And I was like, it probably wasn't that day, but maybe it was the next day. I was like, I'm gonna text everyone back. Like, I'm going to be, and I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna say thank you. I'm gonna like, you know, I'm gonna interact with people in the same way. And that was one of the first steps. And then also faith-wise, it was really big for me. I've always been a believer. I've always, you know, had faith. I've always had, you know, walked with God. But I think that it was a blessing to be able to have to experience it. I've had a lot of, you know, a lot of, as far as football goes, I've been very blessed career-wise up until, you know, at that point it was like, you know, it was kind of all positive. And then, you know, it took a quick turn. And I'd always, you know, I trust in God, believe, you know, whatever it is, I always give it up to Him. But that was one of the first times in a professional sense that I had no choice. Like, and, you know, I think that's, that wasn't an accident. Like, I think God put me there to know that I, you know, that the faith is real for me to strengthen my faith, really for me to be able to experience God in a different way. That was like, you know, for me, I was, I was super grateful that I am super grateful for that. It was just trying to be as consistent as I could. I was like, I don't want to have a different routine. I don't want to stop watching the same amount of film. I don't want to do the same little habits that I had. And I'd never done any of that as a hypothetical. You know, before it's like, you know, I'm going to grind in the off season because this is what's in front of me. You know, I'm gonna, this week I'm watching film, and I, you know, it's Thursday, and I wanna go home and I'm tired, but it's like, I mean, on Sunday, I know I'm gonna be happy I watched this extra film. And that was my first time I had to do it, where it's like, this might be for nothing. Like, you know, I don't know what my future holds, I don't know, I don't know anything. And that was the first time I didn't, yeah, I didn't have that, that path. You know, it's not everything's guaranteed, but it's like, all right, if I do this, I can get here. High school, I was rated high, it's like, all right, I can go to whatever school I keep, you know, I keep doing this, get to Bama. It's like, here's this path for however many first-round draft picks they've had. Here's what I could, you know, I got to do it, but here's what it looks like. You know, obviously you get picked first. It's like, here's what you can do to be, you know, and that was the first time I didn't have a path. I didn't, I had to trust God. I'm super grateful for that. What was tougher, learning to move through that adversity that you just speak about, or the expectations and pressures the processes that come along with being the number one overall pick in your rookie year, having to deal with that moment. Honestly, getting through that was tough. I wasn't really a stranger to expectations. It's something I've always embraced, and I think I've been able to do that just by trying to reach on to what's tangible. Like, for me, what people expect, what people think on the outside, you know, I'm a sports fan too. You know, I've been a sports fan. I'm grateful that everyone has an opinion and everyone has projections because that's what fuels the sport. You know, that's what keeps it going. But also, that doesn't affect me. It's not going to be the reason, good or bad, something happens. So with the expectations, I've always been able to keep it in the building. I've always been able, all right, what does my teammate expect from me? What does my coach expect from me? And I've had a lot of experience with that. But, yeah, being benched, you know, not, you know, again, there being so much in the air, I had no experience with that. So it was a, yeah, definitely a humbling experience. Bro, we talked to you as the excited young Alabama quarterback coming out, mom and dad's here, and we were all, yeah, let's go. And now you done been in the grinder. You done been in the league. What was that transition or that aha moment, rookie moment that you saw that now I'm in the league? Because I always say it. Once I got to the league is when I started seeing dudes that I honestly in my heart knew were better at football than me. Never saw it in high school, never saw it in college. When was that moment for you? or what was that transition for you now? You know, honestly, my rookie year, again, I went to a really good high school. My last year was in high school. We were, you know, top in the country, went to Alabama. And every week in practice and in games, it was just our philosophy. It's like, you know, it's about us. And, you know, how you prepare, especially at Bama. You know, Coach Saban was huge on that. How you prepare, that's what is going to show up on Saturdays in college. You know, we were able to have a lot of success and then when games came on Saturday that we didn't, you know, we didn't have a good game, we lost, whatever it is, we could go back and have those team meetings of, like, we know we didn't deserve this. We didn't have a good week of practice. We weren't focused. Going to, you know, my first year in the league, I'll be honest, we was doing everything right in the league. They're both good. Exactly. They are better than we are. And we would lose, whether it was close, it was, whatever it was, we'd get killed. And I remember, like, you know, you go back and lock up, it was like, we weren't, like, the main character in this. this game like they've had a good week and they executed and we we didn't really like we could you know obviously there's plays you want back there's not you can't improve but it's like we weren't gonna win either way like and now being able to you know be on a lot of different size of results on on sundays it's like one obviously it gives me a lot more excitement for where we're at now um you know kind of getting that back that like okay we we're feeling in control you know we're just we're the loss we have we know we we do xyz better we could have got it done and uh you know the wins like we executed we had that you know feeling more in control i definitely took that took that for granted it's like we didn't determine a lot of the outcomes like my first year like it was just how the other it was really how the other team was doing so that was a that was a interesting for me one thing i love that you do and you know when you just pay attention to the game is no matter what the half is like what the game is like standing in front of the locker room shaking every player's hand or dapping every player off and giving them a message or saying you know let's come out and play well or whatever it is and I've seen the leadership and I always think it's a difficult transition especially for young talented quarterbacks because you go from all of us being the same you know we kind of like 18 to 22, our lives are very similar to, you might be dapping off the 32-year-old dude that's been married six years and has three kids. His issues ain't your issues. His life isn't your life, but in that moment, you're together. How did you adjust to the leadership position in the NFL? Yeah, that's a great question. That's one of the things that I look back on a lot and feel like I've learned and I've reflected on a lot. I definitely kind of came in with that mindset. That's, again, I kind of just follow my past plans in college. I was able to, my freshman year was like, that was the year they went undefeated. You know, Mack, Smitty, Dub, Najee, Pat. Yeah, P2, Barmore. Like, it was such great examples. And those guys obviously were the leaders. There was a lot of guys that were, you know, seniors. A lot of guys that were, you know, had been there for whatever it was that you go in. It's like, all right, I'm a young guy coming in. You know, I'm talented. I'm confident. But I want to go and learn the culture. I want to go and, you know, put the work in. I'm going to go earn it amongst my teammates. I'm going to show them this whole year, you know, I wasn't playing that. I'm going to show them how I carry myself. I'm going to go at it on scouts, whatever it is. And then my second year, I'm like, okay, I've kind of earned my stripes. I've learned what this culture is about. Now I feel comfortable being that leader. And I kind of wanted to take that same approach to lead. And I realized that wasn't the case. Coming in, it was, honestly, I felt like it was easier. People wanted to be led more in the NFL because I think everyone's mature enough to understand the power of leadership, power of everyone being on the same accord. And I came in, you know, college, you young, there's someone that, you know, you come in at, what, 18, and there's someone who's been there for four years. You're a freshman. I'm not listening to you. I'm not. And I was still trying to, like, you know, trying to feel my way through, and I was still, all right, what's the NFL like? And I think people, I think they were waiting a little more, like nah you the number one pick Like we here to and you the quarterback Like our quarterback needs to be a leader You know we need to And I think it took me Honestly I think it took me too long I think it was during the season I was like okay like yeah I can You know, I can say stuff. You know, I can challenge people. And it could have been from day one. And I didn't know that. But looking back at it now, and I always talk to, you know, when we get young guys, it's like, hey, don't wait and don't feel like you have to assimilate to the culture. Like, you've been successful your whole life. You know, when you're doing things right, Like, you know, we're not going to sit here and judge you based off your age. You're doing stuff right. Bring people with you. You want to you feel like you're a vocal guy. You want to come and be vocal. Be vocal. Like, it's not going to hurt any feelings. It's not going to. So I think that that's one of the things that I've definitely learned. Bruh, it feels like we talked to you two decades ago. The person I'm just going to be honest. The person sitting here is so much more mature, self-assured, probably a little more grit. than the dude we sat with at your parents' house. And that guy had always been on top. And so I just want to say, man, just, I commend you for the growth, the self-awareness that you're speaking with now, man, because it feels like, hey, this is the leader. This is our guy. This is the quarterback. And when you've been through what you've been through, man, it's awesome to see that. Are those the bullets? Yeah. Are those the bullets? Like, when he's speaking, I agree 100%. You're a different dude than what we talked to last time. Are those you taking those bullets and figuring this thing out? Maybe. You know, I don't think it's... I try to just grow and be steady and be consistent, take whatever lessons, whether it's from good, from bad, from whatever it is, and try to be consistent and grow. So I guess I can't tell you the source, but I think just for me, I'm always trying to be better. And it's crazy that during the season, you guys were playing Tampa, and I'm screaming your name out for the division, right? And I'm screaming, Bryce. She's like, Bryce, who's Bryce? So I tell her. And then in the Rams game, I'm doing the same thing. She's like, who are you going for? Like, I want to see Bryce do good. But we're also close with Coach Sean McVay. I felt like either way it would be a win-win. But I want to see you do your thing, right? And she's like, so who are you going for? I said, I want to see Bryce win the game. But that's another story. I do want to ask you, what was easier to understand? The verbiage your rookie year in the playbook install or talking over a route concept with Xavier Leggett? It's just really what it is, is like, I'm not gonna lie. So I see, you know, I see when he gets drafted, I see the press conference, see the whole thing. I'm like, I don't know what, I don't know what, how this is gonna go. And call him, like, or, you know, I reach out to him, text him, he comes to the facility, next day I talk to him. And that first day, it's the same thing. It's a lot of context clues. A lot of pieces together. But honestly, I think it was probably for that first, Yeah, first day in the street, you know, it's an hour. They, you know, go over there and see the locker. The next day, like, from that point forward, next conversation, it's like, okay, I get it. After that, it's like, now I don't even hear it. Like, now it's just, like, normal. So, yeah, it's like, you know, you can't... Once you're around all the time, it becomes normal. And the funny thing is, last year, we're out in Cali. We're driving, and he's on the phone. He's on FaceTime. And I'm just driving, and I hear someone that he's talking to. And crazy enough, it's even more like, it's even stronger of an accent than he has. I'm like, who's that? He's like, oh, just someone from back home, back in Mullins. I'm like, bro, there's more of you? Like, I understand. You ever going to try some coom? I heard him talking about being coom. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Too much self-respect for that. I can't do that one. Correct? It's actually not that bad. It's pretty delicious. If it could be on the side of the road. I'm from Louisiana. If it could be on the side of the road, I can't, like, cow me out. If you let a cow go, a cow can get hit by a party. Have you ever had deer? But that's a, you know, that's not like, that's not the... It's not a rodent. Yeah, exactly, exactly. You know exactly what I'm trying to say. Man, y'all are funny-assers. Hey, yeah, I mean... Y'all are funny-assers. I went to my... I went to one of my dad's birthday parties, man, and I remember my uncles and aunts, they were fighting over the raccoon heads. Oh, that's... Because it was... Yeah, they had the whole coon on the table, and then when they was leaving, they was like, nah, that one's my head! You know, I was like, y'all got it. Like, I'm not really tripping on that. Like, it's not really that important. But I come from a family that lives like that. Man, I remember making the tape. It's Monday morning this season. You guys just played Atlanta Falcons. You threw four, 450, three tuds. You win. And it was like... Even more so than the throw, the turnaround, and the... It was like that moment. I was like, that's the Bryce that people had been waiting on. and you finally got to show all the skills you possessed. And not only that, it turned into a big win. How did you feel after that game? Was it necessarily a turning point, or was it an opportunity to kind of exhale and say, okay, not only can I do this, but we can do this as a team? Yeah, I really think, yeah, what you said at the end, that's really the biggest part. It was like, I felt like, you know, it was just great for us as a team, as a unit on the offensive side of the ball. Like, there was a lot. Everyone was getting involved. There was a lot of, and, you know, we're a young unit. My offense, that was really the pride I took in it. Jalen, at the beginning of the year, was hurt, so he was back. You know, X had missed some games, he was back. And then, you know, TMAC had been consistent. You know, we had everyone there, too. Rico and Chu played that game. So that was one of our first games, really, where we were at full strength. And same, good week of practice. You know, everyone was in a good mindset pregame. And I thought for us, it was just great for us to see, like, we're capable of doing anything. Like, it's not a hypothetical. It's not just like a, oh, maybe next, you know, as we keep getting into developing, it's like, we can do that right now. And then, you know, obviously, it's just on us to continue to build off of that. It's funny you talk about Rico and Chu. I tell you, Chu Hubbard is who you're speaking of? Yeah, yeah. When he got hurt and then Rico doubt him. Yeah. When Chu gets hurt and Rico go out there and hit him for two, then Chu comes back. How was that in the locker room where we got to get, I got to get this ball to Rico some more. I done seen him break 60. I done dropped it. I saw you drop the little out and up on him. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? With that transition of the starter getting hurt and that dual running back thing that happened, it was very interesting to see that you had to integrate guys back in. Yeah. But we still got to get Rico some carries because he done went crazy over these last three weeks. Yeah, yeah. It's just, you know, that's the league. You know, that's the business of what it was. Yeah, you know, you never, because, you know, Obviously, Rico came from Dallas the year before. And, you know, Chube, you know, Chube's been our guy for a while, you know, and so it was, you know, all right, we're gonna have a one-two. Chube, you know, he, you know, we all knew what he was capable of in the building. And then, you know, you have someone new, it's like, you know, you see practice, you see training camp, and then it's, you never know. For Rico, it was just like, you know, Chube went down, so it's like, now I'm getting all the carries. You know, I'm getting the bulk of it. Now I'm getting stuff in. Obviously, you know, show everyone what he was capable of, what he could do. And one thing that I'm super grateful for and I commend them both for is that they're a really, like, it's a really tight running back group. They all get along great. So for us, it was like, we got two guys that we know can go. Like, we know, like, have juice. We know are huge for us. And they were never like, oh, damn, I need to get more. I need to get more. They're both supporting each other. They're both just as happy, you know, they're just as happy for each other than they are for themselves. They're both selfless guys. So it was never a thing in the locker room. It was never no weird. Like, it was all... And that's one of the things I've been super, super fortunate with being in Carolina. You know, again, we've had our ups and downs. We haven't had any, like, you know, for the most part, you have your, you know, a couple outliers. We haven't had a lot of selfish guys. We haven't had a lot of, even when things weren't going great, we haven't had a lot of, what are you doing? What are... A lot of people that have been accountable, a lot of people that root each other on. So we never really had... It was never like drama or anything. You guys play, like, the most anti-climatic playoff playing game in the history of playing playoff games. You know what I'm saying? It's like, yeah, if Carolina wins, they're in. But if Tampa wins, we still don't know who's in because the Saints got to play. You know what I mean? So it was all of those things. And there was conversation like, hey, man, it's the Carolina Panthers. Like, I remember being on first take, and they were like, they got no chance. I was like, how can you say that? I was like, did you not watch the Carolina Panthers play the Rams the first time? And so you have all those conversations, and the game comes down. It's fourth down. I think you throw it to Jimmy Horn. It's low at the end. He doesn't come up with the catch. But you played so well. The team played so well. But what is the feeling walking off of the field in the game that you guys very well could have won against a team that at some points was favored to win the Super Bowl? It sucked, man. It sucked. Like, in the moment, there's not a lot of consolation prizes. There's not a lot of like, oh, we own, like no one thought like, one, you know, we don't, again, we have a great locker room. We don't think like that. You know, I get it. Like, you know, I've been around sports. I know whatever to, you know, on the outside looking in. Like, you know, I get it. But for us, it's like, we thoroughly believe this year, you know, we could beat anyone. We've, you know, for us, we look at it, you know, we had some good wins. We also respect it enough to like, all right, it's a league. You know, we can, if we don't, if we come in and we're not humble and we come in arrogant, we could lose anyone. So it's like a ton of respect for the Rams. I'm a huge Stafford fan. Like, I love watching our film. You know, a ton of respect for them. But we're coming in like, okay, like, let's go to war. Like, let's do it. Like, you know, we've worked. It was a great atmosphere, great environment. You know, we've worked for this. Like, you know, it's win or go home. Let's go 1-0. Off season, whatever, you get to reflect, like, all right, we know we're capable of, let's keep building. But in the moment, it's like, we were, you know, we're this close. We're, you know, we're all, I'm, if I could have done this better, if I could have made this play and everyone's looking like that. So just as competitors, like, it sucks not being able to keep that season going. There was a lot of talk about the speed changing from regular season to playoff. Could you see or tell the difference in that? Less of the speed, more like the gravity, if that makes sense. Like, just the gravity of the plays. Like, you know, it's like, you know, when you're playing week five, it's like, you know, ah, we lost that series. It's like, all right, well, only X, Y, Z left in the game. But then we got next. Then we got, it's like, you know, third quarter, halfway through the third quarter, you come off the side, it's like, we might have two left if we don't, in the year, if we don't get this right. You know, it's like, so is the gravity, you know, taking care of the ball. You know, that's a big, again, your whole year comes down to that. So I think more so than that, it was just like, all right, how do we deal with, you know, like the weight of it? Everyone rising up, stepping, you know, stepping up to that occasion. You know, your details, they become that much more important in those situations. So really, that's kind of what I felt. How did that compare to college football playoffs for you when you talk about the gravity? You obviously played at the highest level of it in college. But even in a first-round playoff game in the NFL, when you talk about the gravity of the moment, I always tell people this. in the playoffs to me, it wasn't that the positives felt like so much more of a high. It was that the negatives felt like so much more of a low, right? A missed tackle for me or you give up a big catch. He was like, damn, we ain't going to win. You know what I'm saying? I didn't lose. He was like, I didn't lose the damn game. In the first quarter. In the first quarter, I lost the game. You know what I mean? How did that compare to you, though, the NFL playoffs to the college football playoffs? Yeah, it's like, you know, it's similar, but at the end, it's just, it's a lot more intensified. Like, you know, I feel like in college, it was like, you know, you really go down and think like for me in college, like we're going to score every series, every drive. Like if we need to go and put up 50 points, then that's what we're going to do. And obviously you don't do that, but it's like, you know, the next drive, like we're going to score. Like that's just your mindset. And obviously in pros, it's not like that, you know. So it's just the margin of error is so much smaller. So because of that, it's like, no, like, you can't just, like, you can't just make a reckless pass. You can like you know you have to all right when the time to go for it When the time to be aggressive When the time all right third down it third and 18 Like we can we need the field position Like, all right, well, number one, if we get the dream look, if not, all right, this six yards to the tight end, now we can play, you know, now we can help the defense, we can play complementary football. This isn't the time to be, like, you know, so I think it's just, like, situationally, like, it's a lot more intense. To that point, bro, the QB1 is something special. LB1 is not that special. WR1 is not that special. Now with that mindset, it's not, man. No, yeah, yeah. I was LB1 for a while. They don't treat you the same. They don't treat you the same. You've been LB1 in college, and that's why I thought about it when RCA asked that question, of like now the level of holding a billion-dollar organization as QB1. where when they, when I'm watching the game, Carolina's playing whoever, it's your little ass sitting up there smiling. Hey, hey, taking the football, throwing it to this hand. Yeah, yeah. You want all that goofy shit with the ball? But, like, the difference between, like, college to NFL QB1s, it has to be a huge jump. And to the fact that you were QB1, then not QB1. Yeah. And then QB1 again. Yeah. Like, what was that whole thing, but just being QB1 of a billion-dollar organization? Yeah, yeah, it's a full-time thing. You know, obviously, you're, you know, you're a reflection. One of the things I've learned, and I think the biggest difference, another big difference from college to pros, it's like, you know, I went to school in Tuscaloosa, which is, you know, which was a blessing. You know, it's a different environment, you know. It's like, oh, I, you know, and even Alabama, I think it's one of the exceptions where maybe you speak for a little bit more of the state, but for the most part, you know, it's a lot of college towns in college, And then a lot of the bigger, you know, a lot of the bigger cities in college, you got other stuff going on. You know, being now in Carolina, especially in Charlotte, it's like now it's like you're the city. You know, you represent the city in what you do. So, one, you know, you take that responsibility. You know, whatever you do, that speaks for the city. And then also, you know, you feel a little more. Like, you know, it's like, you know, and again, college, you're I'm not going many places in Tuscaloosa. You know, there's not many places to go. You know, you out at dinner. I felt it. I felt when, you know, we've had a little more success. I felt we've been, and you see, you know, it's a lot, there's a lot more restaurant, a lot more things to do. So you're out a lot more. You get, you know, people are looking at you different. People come and I appreciate it because it shows the passion. I've had a ton of people, especially those first, you know, especially after the first year, first two years, like come up like, bro, why ain't you like, what are we doing? Like come up like, bro, you need to do this, this, this. It's like, bro, and a bunch of people, again, it's a lot of passion throughout the city. It's like, I've had season tickets for X, Y, Z. My grandma, she watches every game. So when you mess up, don't make her mad. Like, literally, I've been there like, my grandfather has high blood pressure. Like, don't be responsible for it. The reason you're like... Damn. Don't kill Papa. Yeah, yeah. So I just got here, and I'm gonna be the reason an 85-year-old man died, is what you're telling me. I'm the caller. Yeah, exactly. But it's, again, but you, that's what I signed up for. Like, no one, no one forced me to be a quarterback. No one, like, I enjoy that. Like, I enjoy the responsibility. I enjoy all that comes with it. I'm super grateful. I get to live out my dreams. So, you know, we signed up for it. The season's been over, for the most part, for about a month. Have you been able to decompress, look back, and reflect on year three in comparison to the first two years? Yeah, yeah, for sure. That was one of the things I wanted to do while it was still fresh. Like, just take some time to reflect. One, I'm getting up there. Year three, I'm getting... I'm getting old. I'm getting old. I'm getting... You know what's going on? He gets up well. Me, I'm 24. I'm getting... I'mma jump on you. That's like almost halfway to 30. I'mma dive on you. Really? That's really, like... Halfway to 30? That's a quarter... That's a quarter century. Bro, they would round down for you still. Yeah. They still rounding the 20 for you, dog. Stop it. You know, and a lot of guys playing in national championship games at your age. Yeah, different time. Yeah, different time. You know, I'm excited for our trajectory. I'm excited for where we're going. But, you know, also I feel like for me, for all of us, it was like, you know, it was reassuring to be able to get to the playoffs. You know, I've been able to experience that. And again, young team, and for all of us, we had a lot of young guys that game step up. Like, to have a, you know, a moment like that, a game like that, a lot of guys stepped up. and not just young guys, but a lot of guys, you know, for us as a, you know, as a franchise, as a building, you know, not a ton of experience in that moment. And you wouldn't tell by how people played. And for me, that just motivates me even more to just, you know, I got to be my brother's keeper. You know, we got to, you know, we all in that moment, you know, we didn't flinch. We all wanted more. We were all in a, you know, no one came back to the locker room like, well, like, you know, no one thought we'd make the playoffs. Like, it's a win. Everyone's heated. Everyone's pissed. everyone's, you know, everyone's, we can't, we can't get back and, you know, so I think that is just, uh, yeah, that's, that's super, super exciting. I have two relationship questions for you. Not like that. Stop it. The first one is your parents. Yeah. Right. Uh, I talked about the difference in the level of maturity. Not that you were like knucklehead or any of those things, but you know, so many times you have the, the, the alternate draft, right. Telecast or broadcast and they're like, this kid went through this, and his dad was never there, and all that stuff. That's not your story. You don't have a horror story of getting here. But I do know when you become a professional, there are things that only you can go through. When you were going through the adversities, and now even the highs, what are some of the conversations like with your parents now, as opposed to what they used to be? Yeah, super close. My parents, very, very grateful. They're the reason I'm here. One of the things that I really appreciate is, you know, they always talk to me and not at me. And really, that was, at a lot of the times, that really started at a young age. You know, obviously, you're a little kid, you know. Parents gotta tell you what to do. But they were always empowering of like, you know, I'm still, you know, they're my parents. They're, what they say goes ultimately. And they, but they wanted to, all right, here's the, we're gonna tell you why you're doing this. Like, it's not just blindly do it. We're going to tell you this is why. And I always try to be responsive to that. I always try to be respectful and we have a respectful relationship. And now it's more like my parents are like, you're an adult. Like, we're here to be a sounder board. I'm always asking them for advice. They help me out a ton with my foundation. They help me out a ton with the stuff away from football, stuff with football management, all that stuff. So we're always in conversation. But it's not, obviously, it's like I value their opinion. And they know that I ask them things because I actually, you know, I actually want to hear their input. And they tell me the stuff that not just I want to hear. They tell me their honest opinion. We're able to have that rapport of like, you know, obviously we're, you know, we're super close. We love each other. But it's, you know, we're talking about something that's more business related. Like my dad will tell me like, yeah, you should do this or no, you shouldn't do it. I'm like, I don't want to. I want like, yeah, but here's what you do. But also it's like, if you say no, all right, man, you know, I'll go with that. And that's what it is. like, here's the, you know, here's how I see it. The pros and the cons. Exactly. So I think it was just, for me, being able to have that relationship, like, I, and those are my role models, too. So it was like, for me, I wanted to learn from them. And it was not just like, oh, how'd you get, like, I know a lot of, like, you know, they'll tell me about decisions they made. They tell me about when I was younger, this is what we were doing, this is what was different. So it's like, being able to learn from them versus just like, you know, just being ordered around or being able to, like, that was huge for my development. Did you call them before or after you were fake driving to Atlanta when you got the news you weren't just recording? I don't think I called. I was, yeah, I definitely texted my dad right away. What was that text message to you? I said, they're going with Andy. That was like, and I'm sure he called me, and I was like, you know, one, it's in the middle of meetings, which sucks, by the way. Like, not trying to, like, I get it, you got a business. I'm not the only person to get banished or get cut or whatever. but I was like, you know, it's like, hey, you know, you know, we're going Andy, getting benched, like, all right, let's get back to meetings. What I'm gonna do for like the next hour, like I'm not thinking about, like, I'm not, like, I'm not the most receptive to whatever game plan is going on right, like, I need a little time, like. Right. But I just, you know, so, and then, I think, yeah, we did talk and that's the only person I, like, talked to, like, both my parents, like, that I could, like, really, like, verbally talk to. And, um, I just... Yeah, they were just... But they know me well enough to know that. Like, that was obviously my first... not my first hardship just in life, so they know that I'ma kind of detached, like, be by myself. Like, I'ma probably more isolate myself, and they respect it, so... Something financially y'all had to go through, because did they... Were they okay with you buying them pearls? Me? I guarantee... I got on you earlier. Your daddy said, Yeah, bro, get you some pearls, bro. These are a couple hundred, not a couple thousand. But if they're financially aware now, because I know we went through, I talk about it all the time, where, like, I was going to get a Hummer. Yeah. The big, dumb H1s. And I went and bought me a big, dumbass, big, white H1 with no shocks and worst vehicle decision I ever made in my life. But when they give me money, I'm going to get an H1. Yeah. Was anything that you were just dead set on, bro, you can go to hell. Like, I'm about to get this. No, not really. I'd like to think I'm not a... There are certain things that I'll spend on, for sure. Like, but I'd like to think I'm not a huge spender. Like, just naturally. I think my parents were very fiscally responsible, so it probably rubbed off on me. So, yeah, it hasn't been anything that I was, like, haven't got... I'm normally trying to figure out how I can either get things the cheapest or I can, you know, get it for free or whatever. Like, I'm normally willing to do that. You just want the pearls. Yeah, the pearl... Yeah, the pearls were... You already said, get the cheapest or free? Oh, I'm tired. But everywhere, everything I wear is free. Yeah. Everything I wear is free. I respect, I respect. This all, yeah, this all Jordan. This all, everything I got, not the pearls, but. 2X, 13s, whatever, you know what I'm saying. I see you shooting your shot. Huh? You shooting your shot? Yeah, man. This ain't gonna be for free. He's a guest, man. Stop begging. Huh? 13, 2X. Stop begging. So, but Bryce, you know, how does it make you feel to know that one of the best players in the history of the Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton, you know, he has your full support. You know, he was quoted as saying, just keep your head up and persevere through the benching. This past year, he said, keep rocking. He congratulated you for breaking his single-game passing mark. And to know that he's there in full support, like, does that reassure your confidence? And what are you guys' relationship like? Yeah, for sure. I'm super grateful for that. You know, I grew up watching Cam, being a big fan of his game. Obviously, all the stuff he was able to accomplish. I think one of the real eye-opening things was, you know, just being in the Carolinas, being in the city, and everyone, like, you could tell how much of not only, obviously, they were winning and doing a lot of great things for the team, how much of an impact he had on the city. Like, even now, whatever little thing, it's like, man, like, you know, we haven't had anything close to this since Cam was here. Or, like, you know, it's like, man, back when Cam was here, like, you know, whenever things were like, like, don't worry, like, you know, Like, you know, back in, you know, 2015, it was going. And it's all around the city. Like, man, and also one of the things that a lot of people probably, I don't know if they see it or not, but, like, Cam, obviously what he meant, but he was out in the community a lot, too. Like, there was a lot of guys, you know, trying to do my best to be out in the community. People was like, yeah, like, you know, it was cool. Yeah, I'm glad you're here, too. Like, this is kind of a trick, because Cam was here, and he was doing, and he made, you know, a lot of people grew up, like, and now that are maybe, you know, now we're maybe in their 20s, 30s. Like, yeah, I was in high school, and Cam came. The whole school, I'll never forget that. So yeah I have a ton of respect for him And like you said him having my support you know he giving me advice on things It really means a lot How has the relationship between you and Dave Canales grown You know, when it's not the coach that drafts you, there's a different relationship. And then obviously he made the decision to go with Andy Dalton week eight in 2024. You're the starting quarterback and you finished the season strong. and then now you guys have this run through this season where it seems like he understands you more as you've grown in the offense. How has that relationship with Dave Canales evolved over the last two years? Yeah, I think it's grown a lot. Like you said, not being drafted, you know, you lose a little bit of time, lose that initial wave of, like, that intro to the NFL. Yeah, exactly. I think it was a big transition from last year to this year of, like, you know, for me last year, it's like, okay, I want to learn. I want to learn the system. and figure out, okay, what do you call this? How do you look at this? And I think that's, you know, as a quarterback, that's our responsibility first is just to, you know, make sure you know that. And then, you know, you go through the year, the ups and downs, and then I think it shifted. One of the things that I'm grateful for, he's someone that really encourages players to be vocal. He wants to know, hey, I like this, I like that. You know, whatever it is. So he wants the communication. And I want to be able to communicate, too, but my first year, it's like, I don't want to just blankly tell you, like, oh, I love this one. I've never done it for your system. Like, you know, I've never really like, you know, it's like I obviously I could draw from past experiences, but like you don't really know unless you really, you know, you really executed. So now a lot more comfortable being like, no, no, we've you know, now I have reps in this. This is the stuff I like. This is stuff that I like called. I think for me as well, like understanding his intent as a play caller. It's like, you know, when you hear a certain call on a certain down and distance, understand it. Like, you know, before it's like, you know, you're going to go through. Here's one. Here's two. No, here's one. Here's two high. There's the year one you first, you know, now memorizing the plays. And then when you start to learn the play caller and after reps, like, hey, on this, I'm just looking for five. Or, hey, on this, like, you know, this means I want to take a shot. So now I can hear stuff in the headset, like, okay, I know the intent of the play, not just the read. So I think that that's been great. How much doubt was there last year, early last year, 2024, that you could be this Bryce Young, the Bryce Young people expected you to be when you were drafted, more importantly, be that Bryce Young for the Carolina Panthers at some point? For me, honestly, like, my faith comes from God. Like, my confidence comes from the Lord. So, like, good, bad, up and down, like, it's never wavered. Like, for me, my source never wavers. So it's like he's all-powerful. I'm never... There's nothing that's ever going to be too much for him to overcome. There's nothing that he can't do. Like, I believe that wholeheartedly. You know, I've never lacked confidence. I've never been like, I don't know if this is like... I serve a great God, so he can do anything. I think for, again, right after, right when I get benched, that was the first time where I'm like, I don't know what this... You know, I love being... I love the Carolinas. I love the Panthers organization. I love being there. But obviously, it's two-sided. So at that time, I'm like, I can't. I can't. I don't know how they feel. Exactly. I don't know what their plan is. And, you know, we talked during it. But, you know, obviously, it's hard to, I don't want to say trust, but, you know, it's hard. It's a business at the end of the day. You know, there's always a what-if from the business side. And, you know, that's how sports is. It's nothing personal. So for me, I was like, and I don't know what my... That was, again, for me, it was like, I don't know my path. I don't know what it is. I don't know what it looks like. Like, I know what I'm capable of. I'm confident. I serve a great God. He can do all things. So whatever it looks like, I really have to let go. And again, it's been, I still feel like that. And something, when you brought up Cam, because we're around Cam, you know, RC blesses us by bringing us on ESPN every now and again. And Cam there, Cam is a big old bastard now. Cam's a big bitch. He's huge. And then, like, one of the knocks, I remember when we were sitting at the house somewhere, when we did the first time, and one of the knocks was your size. Yeah. Now that you have reference points about you're too little to play in the NFL, how would you respond to that now that you've actually played, take a team to the playoffs in the NFL, saying you're too small to play in the NFL? That's other people's opinions. You know, they got it. It's just, you know, for me, I don't, yeah, I wasn't 6'3", like, a couple years ago. Ever like you. I've been my same height. Like, you know, the people, obviously people get better in the NFL. People get... They don't really get that much taller. Like, people aren't like... I didn't walk out... Yeah, yeah, like, they didn't get... So, yeah, I mean, yeah, like, it's not something I don't drop back. Like, if I was 6'3", this would be... Like, I don't drop back with that frame of reference. Like, I go out and be myself. So, I guess that's my really only thoughts about it. Yeah, speaking of quarterbacks, maybe the last two years, you would probably have gotten a call from Tua to sort of help big you up. But it seems like this year you can kind of return the favor. Do you guys speak? Yeah, I've talked to him a couple times. One, so when I first got to Bama, he had just left. So that was like my intro to like, to me, you know, I think college, NFL is like that next elite, you know, you could, you see real football, you know, and it's like that was my intro to real football. Like when I'm learning the plays, I'm watching all the Tua tape. And I'm super close with his little brother too. He was there while I was there. We've been able to run into each other a lot of different times and yeah, like you said, he's always been always giving me great advice always been been super kind really cool to chop it up with and from the times I've been around him the people that I've Been around that have been around him a lot more. I know he's gonna be he's gonna be fine. He's a special player He's got a special there's a lot of stuff and you know you're watching film and Me and Andy talk about it a lot too It's like there's certain plays that you watch that it's like only Tua makes this throw Like he's the only person who even thinks to do it. He's the only person that takes this and gets it. He's the only, like, the anticipation, what he throws with is, like, it's super fun to watch. Like, I'm a big fan of his game. I have a lot of respect for him as a dude. So God's got him, whatever that looks like. I got one last question. Just for me, one last question. You didn't put Tuscaloosa in your GPS. You put Atlanta. Was there a specific destination in Atlanta? Nah, that was just the first major city. I was, like, I was just, uh, I was just driving. I'm like, I don't think I'm getting there. It wasn't Louisville Wingstop? Nah, it wasn't, uh, yeah, it wasn't the Louisville special. But I was just... Hey, yeah, don't go that way. Yeah. Speaking about that, I gotta ask, is there a... You got an old lady or...? Me? Man, I'm trying to... Because before last time we talked, now I'm starting to reference back in my old mind. No, I'm dedicated and married to football. Is what you were saying. Nah, you got a little something to you. That's still what I'm saying, you know? I just play football. You ain't got no old lady, man. You a good-looking, light-skinned man. Like, if I had a 22-year-old daughter, I might, you know, give her your name. I try to keep the personal person with you. Play football, you know? You knew that was coming. Sort of to Fred's question, and it was his question that made me think of it. You are forever connected to CJ. From the same place, right? Came out of school together, goal 1-2. And your careers have definitely been sort of the paths haven't matched. To watch what he went through in the divisional round against the Patriots and then some of the rhetoric afterwards, what's some advice or how do you see kind of how CJ can come out on the other side of this, knowing that you know what he's made of? Like you said, like, I know exactly that. Like, I know the character he has. I know the person he is. I know how much he's persevered in all aspects of his life, and especially, you know, in football for sure. Yeah, that's my brother, man. Like, it's the stuff that, how hard he works, how he carries himself. Football stuff is like, media is, you know, obviously, everyone knows, like, it's a lot of narratives, a lot of stories, and it's, you know, it's wild to look at this, you know, everyone wants to jump to extremes because sometimes the truth is not as exciting when you're posting on media. It's not going to get the same amount of clicks. It's not going to get the same amount of views. So, you know, it's easy to try to jump, all right, like, now we can make it as extreme as possible because it's going to help my, you know, it's going to help my platform. It's going to help get engagement. At the end of the day, like, we know what, like, let's not, like, I don't know why people act like they haven't watched him go and dominate this league. Like, we've all seen it. Like, and also one thing, like, the quarterback position in general, like, this is one of the rare sports, like, you can't call ISO on. in the NFL. It takes 11 on one side of the ball, 11 on the other, 11 for everything. We all sign up for that criticism. We all sign up for the credit. We all want to take the bullet for the team. That's our job. But at the end of the day, we can't control everything. We know what he can do. We know what he does. We've watched him do such crazy things in this league. That's who he is. Like, don't get that twisted, like, ever. Like, that's who he is. And media wants to make things, you know, fans, that's part of the thing. You know, he'll be up and down, whatever it is. But I know who he is as a player. I know who he is as a leader, as a person. And, like, he knows that, too. I know that as well. So it's like I'm excited to watch what he does. That's my guy. The last question, because we all asked Biggest Pivot. I think we asked you that before, even though you were a baby. He's still a baby. He's still a baby. He's 24. Right? He's 21. We met him the first time, okay? It's only been three years, and, you know, I've talked about the growth repeatedly throughout this conversation. If you could go back in time on draft night when you're sitting in the room and give yourself one piece of advice from this person that has grown through these three years, what would you tell yourself before they call your name with the first pick, the Carolinas, Panthers select, Bryshel? Just don't be afraid to be you. I think that was, you know, talking about it a little bit earlier. Like, oh, I wanted to ease my way in, kind of feel out, you know, what's the temperature like in the league? You know, what's it? How are the interactions? And I didn't understand early on how much it was the other way. It was like, you know, coming in my situation, it was, all right, what are we doing now? What are you going to bring? How are you going to change this? So I think that that would be the biggest is just, like, you know, be yourself. And for me, it's like, you know, I try to do all the things right. I try to make sure that if I'm holding other people accountable, I got to hold myself accountable first. And definitely don't lose any of that. But, you know, don't be afraid to ruffle feathers. Don't be afraid. Don't feel like you're too young. It's not just a selfish thing either. It's what, you know, it's what the team is looking for. It's what the team needs. It's what, as an organization, we need. Like, I have to go be that. Like, I want to. I embrace it. And it's what's best for us, for me to be able to do that. So I think that'd probably be the thing. You never know what you're going to get sometimes when you sit down here. I am extremely happy we got another opportunity to sit with you, man. Like, I am proud of you, you know. I text randomly. And you're right, you're a bad texter. Sometimes you text back, sometimes you don't. What I've learned is to not get my feelings hurt. I just text you and Craig at the same time, because he always responds. That's my dog. You know what I'm saying? That's my dog. So I do get to talk to one young. I'm like, see, somebody ready. You know what I mean? But no, I'm always rooting for you, man. Extremely happy for you that you are where you are, man. I just can't wait to see what you do going forward, bro. Appreciate it. Man, thank you, bro. Yeah, Craig always got me. That's why I don't even be tripping. Jump on that group thing. Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, sure. I'm going to text them both. Because if Bryce don't hit me, I know Craig going to text me back. And I'm going to feel all right about it. You know what I'm saying? Limitless, take a stomach cap in it I father here to witness it Got my people feeling militant Way I'm feeling, get me up On a mission, get me up