Kirk Herbstreit defends Bryce Young: Panthers don’t have right personnel

Even before he called Thursday night’s game for Prime Video, Kirk Herbstreit was already well-acquainted with what Bryce Young can do. And what the rookie quarterback has done so far for the Carolina Panthers isn’t something he’s used to seeing.

One of the most respected college football analysts in the game, Herbstreit got plenty of prior exposure to Young during his days at the University of Alabama. He joined The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, after the No. 1 overall pick and his Panthers fell short against the Chicago Bears, and had the following to say about the frustrating situation in Carolina:

“The Panthers don’t have the personnel to run the kind of offense that they wanna run with Bryce Young..

I’m a believer in him and we need to pump the brakes” ~ @KirkHerbstreit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/3fvZxIYqaN

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 10, 2023

Herbstreit was in the broadcast booth a few nights back to see the now 1-8 Panthers amass all of 3.7 yards per play in their 16-13 loss to the Bears. Young completed 21 of his 38 passing attempts for 185 yards and no touchdowns in the outing.

The former Heisman winner is averaging just 195.0 passing yards per game with eight scores, seven interceptions and a lowly passer rating of 75.9. Those numbers are obviously far off the pace of what Young did at Alabama, where he threw for 8,200 yards, 79 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over his two full seasons as the Crimson Tide’s starter.

So while head coach Frank Reich may insist Young’s receivers are doing enough, many will continue to disagree. We can certainly put Herbstreit in that group.