The media showed up early for the Carolina Panthers’ rookie minicamp on Friday to record video of No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young arriving for his first day of NFL practice.

But the former Alabama All-American was already there.

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“This is a huge day for me,” Young said. “This is my first day of practice. It was a lot of fun. So, of course, I wanted to set a tone. I was just here trying to get stuff down like we all were. We talked about it a lot as a team – being prepared. In this rookie minicamp, we’ve talked about themes of the team, and one of them is making sure that we’re prepared to do what we want to do, so I think we all here want to make the best first impression that we can.”

Carolina coach Frank Reich said the Panthers’ new quarterback was sticking to what got him to the NFL.

“It goes without saying that we love guys who love the process, who love the grind, who love the game, who love everything about it,” Reich said. “Bryce has demonstrated that his whole life. Everywhere you go when you check how he’s been, he’s been the same way. This isn’t anything new for him.

“He’s just doing what he’s done his whole life, and that’s get prepared so that he can be counted on play-in and play-out and in the big moments. Part of that leadership is doing things right, and so he’s going to do whatever it takes. You have that sense that he’s willing to do whatever it takes.”

At his first practice, Young “showed complete command” and “did every little thing right,” Reich said.

“Bryce made a great impression, obviously,” Reich said. “Mentally and physically looked the part in every way. Threw the ball exceedingly well. You could tell he was in a good space mentally. Really had a firm grasp on everything we asked of him. …

“I thought Bryce did not only a good job with himself, but just really commanding the huddle, kind of keeping everybody loose, keeping everybody dialed in to what we were doing.”

Young is getting a crash course in the Panthers’ playbook.

“Obviously, it’s a lot of different verbiage, different words,” Young said. “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. We all run the same plays or certain variations of it, but it’s all taught a little differently. 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.”

Young reminds himself that he’s a work in progress as he transitions from the Crimson Tide to Carolina after leading off the 88th NFL Draft on April 27.

“Just trying to be where my feet are and process all the things that I can,” Young said. “Just being that competitor, you always want to get everything at once, and you want to be as comfortable and have everything as down as you can. I lean on the coaches a lot from knowing that it is a process.”

Young said he’s also talked to a lot of his friends, coaches and mentors to help him transition to the NFL quickly and smoothly.

“One person I talked with a good amount was Mac,” Young said. “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. 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. That’s one of many guys who have been super gracious in helping me in imparting wisdom.”

As a freshman at Alabama, Young backed up Jones, who earned All-American recognition as the quarterback for the Tide’s undefeated CFP national championship team.

After Jones entered the NFL as the 15th selection in the 2021 draft, he started every game as a rookie for the New England Patriots while Young won the Heisman Trophy at Alabama that season.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.