All eyes are on the Carolina Panthers' $37.96 million man. Rightfully so. 

Come Wednesday, a new era of Panthers football is here. With it comes a long-awaited aura of professionalism and potential — and most of all — the high-stakes weight of expectations on Young's slight shoulders. 

And if it is anything like the early offseason, the No. 1 overall pick is ready to impress.

“It’s hard not to like that kid. He put quite a stamp on the locker room,” Brian Burns said to Joseph Person of The Athletic. “He walks around with this kind of humble — excuse my language — he’s like humble but I-know-I’m-the-s–t type of swag. He knows he’s got it, but he’s humble with it.”

Throughout rookie minicamp and OTA's, Young used his composure, willingness to learn, and, as Person reported, his smile to win over the locker room. 

The rookies reported to training camp Saturday. And Young comes as the team's anointed started quarterback. 

During the offseason, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Young would be named the starter. But the Panthers' newly-minted head coach Frank Reich, a former quarterback for the franchise himself, wanted Young to earn his spot as the starter. 

With his composure in huddles and an adept ability to command, Reich named Young the starter at the tail end of offseason workouts.

Next for the crown jewel of the 2023 Panthers draft class is seeing how he adapts to the NFL speed of the game and how much his size factors into his success or failure at the NFL level. 

What should help Young transition are the joint practices the Panthers will hold with the New York Jets, who also have a new quarterback who just so happens to be a future Hall of Famer — Aaron Rodgers. 

An opportunity for Young to pick the brain of one of the NFL's most successful signal callers should make the learning curve gentler. 

But really, at the root of the preseason for Carolina, is one looming question: is Young ready to quarterback an NFL offense? He has passed every other test thus far. Now he has to prove he can be the same leader, galvanizing central figure, and impossible playmaker, when the games count —  and the reps matter. 

The year of Young starts now. And if he is successful, Carolina may finally find its way out of NFL purgatory. 

“Being embraced by the locker room, that means a lot to me,” Young said during OTAs. “There’s a lot of guys here that have had a lot of success and played a lot of snaps of NFL football. And them welcoming me, who’s never played a snap before, who’s trying to prove himself and trying to do everything he can to help the team (was important).”

Feature image via Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports.