Despite a lackluster game against the New Orleans Saints that led to a 17-7 loss, quarterback Bryce Young has the Carolina Panthers off to their best start in years at 5-5, and Young has emerged as a strong leader on the Panthers this season. Leadership skills that Young honed during his time at the University of Alabama.
Young had a phenomenal career at Alabama. In his three years, with two years starting at the University, Young threw for 8,356 yards, 80 touchdowns, and only 12 interceptions, while having a 65.8 completion percentage. Add in a Heisman Trophy win and a National Championship appearance, and Young accomplished nearly everything he could in college.
However, Young still needed to earn the entire team’s respect at Alabama, and one incident helped him accomplish that.
The Green Mouthpiece
During an appearance on Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown’s podcast, “The St. Brown Podcast,” Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold recounted a story from his days at Alabama where the team got scolded by a former player.
That former player was running back Bo Scarbrough, who won two National Championships during his time at Alabama from 2014 to 2017. He was ripping into the secondary for their green mouthpiece. Mark Helm of AL.com provided a transcription of the conversation.
“When he came back to Bama, we were all in the weight room,” Arnold said. “You could tell coach Saban or somebody had him come and talk to us. He was like, Y’all over here at Bama, y’all wearing green mouth pieces? We ain’t green!”
Arnold knew that Scarbrough was talking directly to him and the other two secondary players wearing green mouthpieces and took exception to it.
“In my head, I’m like, You gonna be direct? There’s only three people that wear green mouthpieces. Say it. Go ahead and be direct,” Arnold said.
Arnold’s quarterback on that Alabama team, Bryce Young, took this situation as an opportunity to rally the team.
“After that, that’s when I gained respect for Bryce because we had him in the locker room, and Bryce was like, Man, we all wearing green mouthpieces this week,” Arnold said.
Young has brought those leadership characteristics to the Panthers this season.
Bryce Young the Leader
With his slight frame and calm attitude, some might underestimate the type of leader that Bryce Young is, but that mentality has helped him navigate the turbulence of his early NFL career.
Not many would bounce back as strongly as Young has after being benched as the former number one pick in the draft, but that mental fortitude is one of Young’s greatest assets.
Young’s mental toughness is why he’s tied with Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, and Geno Smith for winning the most coming from behind or tied in the fourth quarter, with nine wins since 2023.
In those games, Young has completed 75.9 percent of his passes and posted a passer rating of 115.6, showing that when the pressure is at its highest, Young can deliver.
Darin Gantt of Panthers.com wrote about this in his November 5 article, and how Young’s Dave Canales raves about Young’s work ethic and leadership.
“Honestly, it starts with Bryce, and Bryce is the one that leads the charge,” Canales said. “He’s the one that pushes the urgency in practice, talking to the guys, to be engaged all throughout each day. And it’s that type of leadership that he continues to bring to the team.”
Young’s leadership will be under pressure this week after a disappointing, upset loss to the Saints dropped the team back to .500. They will hope to bounce back when they face the Atlanta Falcons on the road.
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