Bryce Young is starting his professional football career on a high note. The 21-year-old was the first pick during Thursday night’s NFL draft ceremony. He is joining the Carolina Panthers as a quarterback – coming straight from the University of Alabama.

Owner of the Carolina Panthers David Tepper said there was no hesitation when making Young top pick.

“When we went through the process with these quarterbacks, we asked ourselves, ‘Which one of these guys will be a guy that can take us?’” Tepper said in a press conference, as reported by ESPN. “Not to talk about all the different guys, but we thought this guy had the highest probability of winning Super Bowls.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bryce Young (@bryceyoung)

Tepper and the fans have high expectations for Young.

“Listen, you want to win Super Bowls. And you know there’s no sure thing here. But it’s a probability. We thought this guy has the best probability of winning Super Bowls,” Tepper added.

Young says this is a dream opportunity as a player.

“Whenever there’s a pressure situation, I look at that as an opportunity,” he said, according to ESPN. “It’s fun to be in those situations. That’s what we all dream of.”

“Whatever the expectations, I want to take things day by day. But I am super blessed for this organization to take a chance on me,” the quarterback added.

The team has had its sights on Young since he was scouted two years ago. Last February, Young met coach Frank Reich and the rest of the staff. That is when there was an “overwhelming conviction” to pick Young.

“When you watch the tape, Bryce Young is the best player,” Reich said after studying his technique on film.

Young is already making NFL history by being the fourth quarterback shorter than 6 feet tall to be drafted since 2006.

“Those that doubt me, they are entitled to their opinion,” Young said. “That is the beauty of sports. We all come together and have arguments on who you think is good or not. I choose to focus on what I can control, put my energy into that and whatever external factors it may be, positive or negative, that is stuff I can’t control.”

The 21-year-old has looked forward to starting his new gig ever since he visited the Carolina Panthers before the draft.

“Everything was planned out,” Young said. “And the way that they viewed the quarterback position, how much I learned from my time being there, even from the visits that I had, it really meant a lot. So I can’t be more excited, and I’m blessed to be a Panther.”

Congratulations, Bryce Young!

Blavity-UBlavity-U-NewsBryce YoungCarolina PanthersNflNfl-draft