Panthers HC Dave Canales comments on first few practices with Bryce Young

To get back into contention, the Carolina Panthers must first get back to basics—something Dave Canales has preached ever since getting the head-coaching gig.

That message was echoed again on Tuesday, following the team’s first session of voluntary minicamp. But before getting into a little detail about the practice, Canales was asked how the outing went.

“It was great to be out there,” he replied. “This is just fun for me because the first team I coached was at my alma mater, Carson High School, black and blue, and we had the blue jerseys, we’re out in the blue jerseys. And it’s just kinda like a pinch yourself kind of moment. Surreal for sure.

“But again, to do it with some guys that I have familiarity with—saw a lot of proud big brother looks from some of the guys. And to be able to be out there with Ejiro [Evero] and the defensive guys and bringing this whole thing together, certainly a really cool day for me.”

Also out there was the vast majority of the roster, which was missing only a few players due to what Canales described as “private” situations. Included in that bunch, of course, was quarterback Bryce Young—who Canales said the following of:

Canales—who was behind the career resurgences for Seattle’s Geno Smith in 2022 and Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield in 2023—was hired, in part, to get Young going. Last year’s No. 1 overall pick experienced a rough rookie season, where averaged just 179.8 passing yards per game with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

So hopefully for Canales, Young and the Panthers, a small step back to the basics now leads to a huge leap forward in due time.

Story originally appeared on Panthers Wire