The previous time that Carolina had the No. 1 choice in an NFL draft, the Panthers picked Auburn quarterback Cam Newton in 2011.

The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner went on to become the franchise’s career passing leader, the NFL’s career leader in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback and the recipient of the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player Award over the next nine seasons.

With the Panthers prepared to make the No. 1 pick again on Thursday night, Newton said Carolina’s choice should be Alabama quarterback Bryce Young despite where he went to college.

“Honestly, it hurts me to say, and the only hurt comes because of the college that he decided to go to,” Newton said. “Other than that, all roads and all fingers are pointing to Bryce Young. You probably say: Why not C.J. Stroud? You probably say: Why not Anthony Richardson? My only knock on Bryce Young is he went to Alabama. And how petty it may sound to some people, you have to be from Alabama or to have gone to Auburn or Alabama to understand the severity of that topic.

“But in retrospect, if I’m the GM, if I’m the head coach, if I’m (team owner) David Tepper, I’m selecting Bryce Young.”

Newton said Young’s demonstrated leadership ability and his success in the SEC separated the Alabama QB from other candidates such as Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson.

“This is how I judge quarterbacks as a whole,” Newton said. “Everybody can throw. Everybody has talent. Everybody has upside. Everybody has intangibles. But the thing that everybody doesn’t have, and it’s simple, is leadership and can you get a (expletive) to follow you. Like, straight up: Can you get somebody to follow you?”

From watching games, Newton said he had seen Young was “best talent on a talented team.”

“He has had the ability to play in big games, perform in big games and to get guys to buy into him,” Newton said. “You see guys selling out for him.”

Carolina made a trade with the Chicago Bears to obtain the first selection in this year’s draft to choose a face-of-the-franchise quarterback.

While the Panthers’ decision-makers have agreed on the No. 1 pick, Carolina coach Frank Reich said on Wednesday they had not informed the player who will be the first to hear his name called during the first round on Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri.

Young followed Newton as a Heisman Trophy winner in 2021. During an NFL Draft event in Kansas City on Wednesday, Young said he’d be honored to follow Newton as the draft’s No. 1 pick by the Panthers.

“All Alabama and Auburn stuff aside, I have the utmost respect for Cam Newton,” Young said. “Him being able to come in and have the success he had. Being MVP, playing at such a high level, taking that team to the Super Bowl. …

“Also all the stuff that he does in the community, all the stuff that he does giving back, the person he is, how hard he works, what he stands for, so all the Alabama and Auburn stuff aside, obviously, that would be a huge honor.”

Since Newton went down for the season with a foot injury in the second game of the 2019 campaign, Carolina has used seven starting quarterbacks, including Newton. After playing for the New England Patriots in 2020, Newton returned to Carolina to start five late-season games in 2021.

Newton was out of football in 2022. Earlier this month, Newton said he’d be willing to return to the NFL as a backup for certain quarterbacks. Newton listed Young as one of those quarterbacks.

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“Honestly, it’s surreal to even hear a sentence like that,” Young said when asked what he would think about being backed up by Newton. “I grew up watching Cam, and just to see the success that he had, how much he changed the game, changed the position, being MVP, having so much success at the NFL level. That’s something that’s always a dream. I have so much respect for and look up to (him), so under any circumstance, whatever the scenario is, I feel like there’s so much that I can learn from him and I would love to learn from him from conversation to anything. I’ve learned a lot from him just from watching and just from being a fan of him as a player and as a person.

“In any capacity, being able to learn from him I feel like would be really great for me.”

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