Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft for the Carolina Panthers hosted his first-ever youth football camp at Johnson C Smith University (JCSU), an HBCU located in the Panthers hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The camp was free to kids ages 6-13 and as expected the 300 slots filled up quickly with local youth eager to share the field with the starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers.
The 22-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner spoke to local media about the opportunity to give back to a community he feels has embraced him after his rookie season in Carolina.
“I’ve been blessed to where I feel like I’ve been embraced, and a lot of people have been able to interact with me and watch me, but for me, being able to come in and interact and actually be with kids and people in the community and be able to have those interactions is something I’ve been looking forward to for a really long time,” Young told Channel 9 news.
Johnson C Smith University President Dr. Valerie Kinloch attended the camp and welcomed Bryce and the Panthers to the home field of the city’s flagship HBCU. The Panthers also presented Dr. Kinloch with a personalized jersey with her name on the back and she did a jersey swap with Bryce Young where he received his own blue and gold No. 9 JCSU jersey.
Also in attendance at the camp were over a dozen of Young’s Panther teammates. Adam Thielen, Taylor Moton, and Austin Corbett were just a few names helping out local campers perform drills and compete for the title of the fastest camper.
The Carolina Panthers and Johnson C Smith have built a strong bond as neighbors in the Charlotte community. In April of 2023, the Panthers hosted the Johnson C Smith football team at Bank of America Stadium for a spring practice while the Golden Bulls field was getting new field turf, which happens to be the same turf that the Panthers play on at Bank of America Stadium.