Panthers' Bryce Young receiving help from Mac Jones as rookie

Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young has already received some help from an old friend as it pertains to making the jump from the college game to the NFL. 

As shared by Mark Inabinett of AL.com, Young completed his first day of rookie minicamp on Friday and then spoke with reporters about reaching out to New England Patriots signal-caller Mac Jones. Young and Jones were teammates with the Alabama Crimson Tide before New England made Jones a first-round draft pick in the spring of 2021. 

"One person I talked with a good amount was Mac," Young revealed. "Mac Jones was someone I was really close to. Obviously, I played under him when I was a freshman at Alabama, and he had an amazing year there." 

Jones certainly has experienced his fair share of ups and downs at the highest level. The 24-year-old earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie, struggled during games and seemingly feuded with coaches during his sophomore season and more recently has been the subject of numerous trade rumors ahead of the summer months. Additionally, Jones may be asked to compete with 2022 rookie Bailey Zappe for the QB1 job during training camp and the preseason. 

"I’ve definitely reached out to him about the transition and things that he took away and just trying to get prepared for this next level, this next step," Young continued about Jones. "That’s one of many guys who have been super gracious in helping me in imparting wisdom." 

The No. 1 overall pick from this year's draft impressed head coach Frank Reich while working out in shorts on Friday afternoon and later acknowledged these sessions are more about learning a new playbook and system than about wowing anybody with flashy performances. 

"Obviously, it’s a lot of different verbiage, different words," Young explained. "For me, it’s a lot of associating some stuff with stuff I’ve done in the past and then learning new stuff, learning new philosophies...Everyone has different philosophies, so for me, I’m really trying to soak it all in from the coaches, really asking them questions. I’m seeing how they see things. And then, repetition as far as trying to get the calls right, get plays right, know what the rules are, what the little nuances of each play is on top of watching film." 

Among the things Jones and Young have in common is facing unique pressure early in their careers. Jones was and still is being asked to essentially serve as the replacement for living legend Tom Brady in New England, while the Panthers paid a heavy price for the right to draft Young. 

Also like Jones, Young may be named his team's starter ahead of Week 1 of his debut campaign.