Kirk Herbstreit believes Dave Canales will be a ‘great fit’ for Bryce Young

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit believes new Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales will be a great fit for Bryce Young as the quarterback goes into Year 2.

Canales comes over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Baker Mayfield had a resurgent year in 2023. Perhaps the head coach can do the same for Young.

If the Panthers are to be successful, they’ll have to get everything right with their perceived franchise quarterback.

“Canales can be a great fit for Bryce, just as far as relating to him trying to find out what works for him trying to build this thing around him,” Herbstreit said on The Pat McAfee Show. “He did a great job with (Baker Mayfield) last year in Tampa. I think that was a great hire and I think because of what he’s working with, and then the year that he’s coming off of, Bryce Young you know, he’s gonna see some ghosts probably a little.

“But Canales is a guy that’s going to work on the psyche of the quarterback as much as the (X’s and O’s) But I think that has a chance to really work out for him.”

Young won the Heisman Trophy at Alabama and turned his collegiate success into the No. 1 overall selection in 2023. He looked like a home run pick, but he struggled while No. 2 pick CJ Stroud excelled in Houston.

But, all is not lost as Young gets a new coach and still has a mentor in Andy Dalton, his veteran backup.

“I thought he handled it well, and I kept telling him, ‘Just stay the course. This thing is going to get better, it’s going to improve,’” Dalton said. “And I think what we have done this offseason, bringing in some guys, bringing in a couple guards on the offensive line, you know, different things, trading for Diontae Johnson, I think it’s getting built the right way where, yeah, it’s going to set him up to have a better year.”

There’s potential for Young, judging by his college career. Over the course of three seasons (two as a starter), he threw for 8,356 yards, 80 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 65.8% completion percentage.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Young was a five-star recruit out of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 1 quarterback in the class and the No. 2 overall prospect in the class.