What No. 1 2023 NFL Draft pick Bryce Young wants to learn from Lebanon's Frank Reich
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft will have immense shoes to fill and plenty of expectations to live up to. One of Lebanon's own will be tasked with mentoring him to become that player.
The Carolina Panthers selected former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall selection Thursday night, and it will be up to Lebanon native and Panthers head coach Frank Reich to lead Young.
Through the draft process, Young said he was able to learn more about Reich, a Cedar Crest graduate, and his background. Not just as a coach, but the background for Reich's offensive system.
"I've been able to talk with him about the system," Young said. "I did a little bit of research on his background, hearing it from him what he looks for in the quarterback position and what he prides himself in."
The Panthers are one of the few teams in the NFL that have made massive and wholesale changes to their team this offseason. General manager Scott Fitterer chose Reich to replace Matt Rhule, and the Panthers traded up with the Chicago Bears for the top selection in the draft.
Reich and the Panthers were on the clock. It seemingly came down to Young and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.
More: A new leader in Carolina: Can Lebanon's Frank Reich fix Panthers' offense?
After months of waiting, Young was announced as their guy. More importantly, the former Heisman Trophy winner will be Reich's quarterback to teach. In the first few meetings, Young said Reich's philosophy stood out to him.
"I think it was something that really spoke to me," Young said.
Young threw for 3,328 yards and 32 touchdowns last year as a former five-star quarterback recruit. He lived up to the high billing he had coming into Alabama.
Now, Reich has to teach Young. It's a deviation from the path Reich's former team, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Panthers were in the previous years. Instead of entrusting their quarterback reins to aging veterans, Reich will get to make Young into the kind of quarterback he wants.
It's an opportunity that some NFL coaches never get. Reich, who inherited Andrew Luck when he began coaching the Colts in 2018, will now get the chance to start with his choice of quarterback.
For Young, he will look to soak up more of the lessons he's already begun to learn under Reich.
"For me, it was great to learn from him in the small time that I had," Young said. "I'm excited to continue to learn."
From the archives: Frank Reich still inspired by his Penn State father
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: What No. 1 pick Bryce Young wants to learn from Lebanon's Frank Reich
