Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan have ties since high school; Can they help revive Panthers?
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Bryce Young lobbied for the Carolina Panthers to draft wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
'I just wanted to share my experiences. I'm grateful for (general manager) Dan (Morgan) and coach (Dave) Canales for wanting to hear that, wanting to hear me out and hear what I have to say,' Young told reporters this offseason. 'I've been around (Tetairoa McMillan) before. I've seen him. I just had some experiences to share…We are super happy that he's here.'
Young and McMillan go back since their Southern California high school playing days. Young starred at Mater Dei and McMillan played at Servite. Although, McMillan doesn't have the fondest memories of when the two squared off against each other as preps.
"He whooped us his senior year on national television by 45 points," McMillan reminisced, via the team's official website.
Young and Mater Dei trounced McMillan's Servite team 56-11 that night.
"In my eyes, he was the best player in the country and to everybody else's eyes, but man, he was just really good. He knew how to get his teammates involved,' McMillan recalled, per the team's official website. 'He was super patient in the pocket. He threw a pretty ball, and, you know, he has swag on that field."
McMillan's assessment of Young goes to show why the quarterback won USA TODAY Sports High School Offensive Player of the Year award in 2019, the 2021 Heisman Trophy and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Young has yet to find consistent success in the NFL. His sophomore season hit rock bottom when he was benched after Week 2. However, Young showed some resiliency when he returned to the starting lineup. His final three games to end the year included seven touchdown passes, zero interceptions and three straight contests of over a 100-passer rating.
Can Young carry the momentum into 2025? Word out of Carolina is there's reason to be hopeful.
'I think the pace of our offensive development, evolution is growing at the pace of Bryce. 'Panthers coach Dave Canales said at minicamp. 'He's showing such great mastery of what we're doing that he's allowing us to really push the envelope and do more things.'
Young appeared to lose confidence last year, which contributed to his demotion. But the quarterback looks more confident this offseason, even talking a little trash.
'He gets really animated, particularly if you're talking about sports,' Canales said of Young. 'When we're out here on the field, he just has a defiance to him, and that's just kind of his way of competing. He's not super animated with it, but he definitely thrives off of that, feeds off of that energy.'
The genesis of Young's rising confidence can be traced back to the end of last season when he helped Carolina win two of its final three games. This growth was underscored when he lobbied for the Panthers to draft a playmaker who he's familiar with. Now, maybe Young and McMillan can create fond memories together as teammates.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
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