Young: Not entitled to anything as top draft pick

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryce Young says he doesn’t believe he’s entitled to respect from his new Carolina Panthers teammates or anybody in the NFL just because he was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

“I am super grateful for what has happened in my past and for being selected where I was, but I know that doesn’t entitle me to anything,” the former Alabama star said Friday during his introductory news conference at Bank of America Stadium.

“You know it is on me to prove myself, to show up every day and work and earn the respect of the people around me.”

The 5-foot-10, 204-pound Young also doesn’t believe his size will have anything to do with whether he succeeds or fails in the NFL.

“I only know one way to play the quarterback position with this size relative to everyone around me,” the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner said. “I don’t really look at it as an advantage or a disadvantage.”

Young appreciated being asked how his size is an advantage after spending his career being asked how his size is a detriment.

“You make my dad happy with that one,” he said with a smile as looked over at his father, Craig. “He always wanted somebody to ask that question.”

Young, officially listed at 5-foot-10 and 1/8, tied Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals for the shortest quarterback ever taken at No. 1 overall. He is just the fourth quarterback to get drafted after measuring shorter than 6 feet tall at the NFL scouting combine, joining Murray, Johnny Manziel (5-foot-11 and 3/4) and Russell Wilson (5-foot-10 and 5/8).

Only Wilson has had sustained success in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl and being selected to nine Pro Bowls.

“I know that size has been something that everyone wants to talk about,” said Young, who is 4½ inches shorter than the average starting NFL quarterback. “But I’ve never thought about it. I’ve never thought about, ‘Hmm. How am I going to navigate this? What am I going to do differently?’

“I only know how to play it one way.”

Young arrived in Charlotte to a boisterous crowd of close to 1,000 fans and seemed almost embarrassed by the attention, calling the experience surreal as he made his way through a giant blowup Panther and cranked out four swings at the “Keep Pounding'” drum.

The drum is Exhibit 1 that performance far outweighs height in the NFL, particularly in Charlotte. It was born from the legacy of former Panthers linebacker Sam Mills, who died of intestinal cancer in 2005 while serving as an assistant coach.

During Carolina’s 2003 run to the Super Bowl, Mills gave an inspiring speech before the start of the playoffs in which he told players and coaches that when things got tough to “Keep Pounding.”

Mills was 5-foot-9, well below the average height of an NFL linebacker. He made five Pro Bowls and is the only player with a statue outside Bank of America Stadium. Striking the “Keep Pounding'” drum remains a pregame tradition for every Panthers home game.

Charlotte also is known for another undersized athlete in former Hornets point guard Muggsy Bogues, who at 5-foot-3 played 14 seasons in the NBA, including 10 with the Hornets.

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, a Charlotte native who at 6-foot-2 has become one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in NBA history, also is a player Young has been compared to for the way he orchestrates an offense and makes everyone around him better.

“[Curry] is someone I definitely look up to,” Young said. “I’m well aware of him being a part of the [Panthers] fan base. It’s super cool.”

Young has plenty of examples in Charlotte that size isn’t a determining factor to success. But for Young, it’s about hard work and getting into the playbook as fast as he can so he’ll be ready for a three-day rookie camp in two weeks.

“Disadvantage, advantage?'” Young said of his height. “It’s just me and how I know how to play the position.”

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