Carolina Panthers legend Steve Smith Sr. was doing more than just taking silly selfies with team owner David Tepper on Thursday . . .
Hangin’ with Tepp lol 😆 pic.twitter.com/1bliI48hGM
— Steve Smith Sr. (@SteveSmithSr89) March 23, 2023
The franchise’s all-time leading receiver was in the building down at Tuscaloosa for the University of Alabama Pro Day. And there, he witnessed the sweet sights (and perhaps sounds) of quarterback Bryce Young tossing around the pigskin.
Smith, while on duty for the NFL Network, sat down with Young and heaped a tremendous amount of praise on the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner.
“Everything that I’ve seen out of there—for me—I’ve seen bigger, more athletic quarterbacks not be able to anticipate the throw,” Smith said to Young after the throwing session. “I’m just talkin’ overall in this evaluation process of a guy who’s smaller in the measurables, but has the heart and desire to play.
“And I just sat there and watched you—I’ll be 44 years old. I could’ve got out there and ran those routes just the way you were guiding the ball. It was remarkable. I mean, I can lace ’em up. I can’t do nothin’, but it sure looked good watchin’ it, man. What a wonderful, wonderful display of why you deserve to be the first overall quarterback to be picked in this year’s draft.”
"There's two things I know very well. Orange juice and quarterbacks."@SteveSmithSr89 had to give his qualifications before giving praise to @_bryce_young after his @AlabamaFTBL Pro Day 😂 pic.twitter.com/GMTQ8FTV2b
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 23, 2023
Well, we still may not know who the Panthers prefer with the 2023 NFL draft’s No. 1 overall pick, but we may know who 89’s vote is for.