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Peter King - Young is one smart guy

NAS

By NAS,
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NAS Grand Master

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Young is one smart guy

Question to Frank Reich: What’s the one moment, the one thing, that clinched your conviction that Bryce Young should be the first pick in the draft?

Thinking. Thinking.

“It happened on his 30 visit,” Reich said, referring to one of the 30 visits by prospects to team facilities that each team is allowed to host. Young was at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on April 11, talking deep football with Reich, offensive coordinator Thomas Brown and QB coach Josh McCown. They were talking protections—how a quarterback manages and changes blocking calls at the line of scrimmage.

Young and the coaches were talking about a play they’d seen in their scouting process. It happened in garbage time during Young’s true freshman year, in his second college game. Alabama at Tennessee, Oct. 24, 2020, 10 months to the weekend that Young had been playing high school ball in Santa Ana, Calif.

This third-and-six call from the ‘Bama 38 was the 10th called pass play of Bryce Young’s college career. He was 19 years, 3 months old.

You can watch the play right here, first from the sideline angle, then from the endzone view:

 

Video Player

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/05/RPReplay_Final1683236617.mp4?_=1

 
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00:16
 
 

On the surface, it’s nothing special—a 12-yard third-down conversion pass to John Metchie with Alabama up 48-17. Certainly no one in attendance would remember the play. You know who’d remember it? Coaches who were looking for clues to judge Young’s mastery of his offense, and something no fan would notice but lifetime football people certainly would.

Young was in shotgun at the snap, with running back Najee Harris snug to his right. Tennessee had four potential rushers to the left of center and only one to the right. As Young prepared to snap, a fifth Vol pass-rusher snuck to the line outside the left tackle. Young called out an adjustment. Center Landon Dickerson pointed left while Young said something to Harris to his right. Then the right guard pointed to his left. Then, at the last second, a Tennessee safety sprinted toward the line over the right tackle.

Snap.

The right tackle paused, then teamed with the right guard to move left and block the rusher up the middle. Dickerson handled the defensive tackle. A Tennessee blitzer blasted through the B gap—but Harris was there to neutralize him. Alex Leatherwood, the left tackle, pushed the wide blitzer out of the pocket.

Young waited for Metchie to get to the top of his 12-yard stop route. As the receiver turned, the ball was right on him. First down. Gain of 12. Young was not touched.

“Bryce right there called a five-man slide, which is an incredibly smart and incredibly risky call,” Reich said, watching the play while dictating a voice note to me. “If you’re going to call a five-man slide, you have to be 100 percent sure you can bring that [right] tackle over. Because if you bring him and that [left defensive] end comes, you’re in trouble. And just watch the play—how smooth the call is, how sure he is. He saw overload pressure to his left, he figured he wasn’t getting pressure to his right, he had the line all move left to compensate—and he even got the back to cover a blitzer. Just look how easy he made it look.

“That play just confirmed everything we were thinking and already know. Just confirmed the level of football IQ he has that’s on par with Peyton [Manning], [Matt] Ryan, [Philip] Rivers, [Andrew] Luck. I’m telling you: There are quarterbacks in the NFL who haven’t done what he did right there—and he did it easily in his true freshman year in college. To have the confidence to make that call for Alabama in his second college game. Unreal.”

This play, showing this knowledge of the game, is one reason there is no doubt in my mind that Young will begin the season as Carolina’s starting quarterback. The Panthers might have Andy Dalton number one on the depth chart today, but Dalton’s the definition of placeholder. I don’t know if Young will succeed, or if the huge size disadvantage will catch up to him. But from this play and from everything I’ve heard and seen, the game will not be too big for Young. The 10th pass of his 949-pass college career showed the Carolina coaches that.

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top dawg Grand Master

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7 minutes ago, CPcavedweller said:

Y'all are slobbering over recognizing an overload blitz? My god.

Apparently Reich, Brown and McCown did. What your problem is, I don't know. What's trying to be expressed, that you seem not to be understanding is that it's extraordinary for an inexperienced college freshman to not only see the play, but have the balls to change the protection. I guess that you missed the part where they said some pro QBs can't even do those things. 

I get that you're nonplussed about the Young pick, but do you have to be so damned petty and negative about everything? Good grief, dude! Damn, "Debbie" doesn't befit a dude.

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NAS Grand Master

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25 minutes ago, CPcavedweller said:

Y'all are slobbering over recognizing an overload blitz? My god.

When you've been watching Darnold and Mayfield struggling to do the same, yes, it's something to be excited about. 

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rayzor Grand Master

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28 minutes ago, CPcavedweller said:

Y'all are slobbering over recognizing an overload blitz? My god.

because all QBs at any level does this kind of thing and makes the necessary adjustments. really no big deal, even for someone who is 19 years old and in their second college game ever. 

or frank reich is correct and there are pro QBs who don't make this kind of adjustment and that it is incredibly rare, especially for a 19 year old kid in his 2nd college game.

nevermind...i forgot i'm talking to the lone expert here who is superior to every draft scout and coach in the league who sees that Young is on another level. thank you for imparting your wisdom with all of us idiots.

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rayzor Grand Master

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17 minutes ago, top dawg said:

Apparently Reich, Brown and McCown did. What your problem is, I don't know. What's trying to be expressed, that you seem not to be understanding is that it's extraordinary for an inexperienced college freshman to not only see the play, but have the balls to change the protection. I guess that you missed the part where they said some pro QBs can't even do those things. 

I get that you're nonplussed about the Young pick, but do you have to be so damned petty and negative about everything? Good grief, dude! Damn, "Debbie" doesn't befit a dude.

he's got to tamper our expectations. that's his mission in life, to help us put the brakes on our excitement because Young or really any other QB taken at the top of this draft or any other draft isn't really worth the selection because you can get a Tom Brady in every draft.

really he's just a miserable person in here.

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kungfoodude Grand Master

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4 minutes ago, rayzor said:

he's got to tamper our expectations. that's his mission in life, to help us put the brakes on our excitement because Young or really any other QB taken at the top of this draft or any other draft isn't really worth the selection because you can get a Tom Brady in every draft.

really he's just a miserable person in here.

If you are miserable after getting rid of Matt Rhule, Sam Darnold and then drafting a QB #1 overall.....you were surely a Matt Rhule fanboy.

No other explanation for it. So he was at his happiest during the worst period in franchise history. 

Which, probably means he might not actually be a Panthers fan at all.

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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12 minutes ago, rayzor said:

because all QBs at any level does this kind of thing and makes the necessary adjustments. really no big deal, even for someone who is 19 years old and in their second college game ever. 

or frank reich is correct and there are pro QBs who don't make this kind of adjustment and that it is incredibly rare, especially for a 19 year old kid in his 2nd college game.

nevermind...i forgot i'm talking to the lone expert here who is superior to every draft scout and coach in the league who sees that Young is on another level. thank you for imparting your wisdom with all of us idiots.

Pretty much.

When it comes to expectations for the Panthers, I'm one of the most cautious people you'll find. Yet even I'm excited about how smart Young is.

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