Former University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is headed to the Carolina Panthers as the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NFL draft. Young expressed gratitude to God and thankfulness to his family and friends Thursday night as he prepared to enter a new chapter in his life. “It’s a dream come true,” said Young. “I’m blessed. I want to thank God for allowing me to be here, for my parents and everyone who’s supported me. Although it’s my name being called, there’s so many people that pushed me and allowed me to be here.” Before exiting the stage, Young added, “I couldn’t be more excited and I’m blessed to be a Panther.”

When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called his name, Young said, “It was surreal. That’s something that you dream of. For that to come to fruition, I was super blessed to have my parents there and my family around me and be able to share that with them,” Young said, smiling. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

In 2021, Young had a standout year as Alabama’s starting quarterback, resulting in winning the Heisman Trophy that season. Through all of his successes, Young has always given glory to God. After winning the Heisman Trophy, Young took to Twitter saying, “God is great! Truly grateful for everyone who made this possible and for all the support I’ve received. All glory to God!” Last year while appearing on the Sports Spectrum Podcast, Young spoke more in depth about his faith where he said, “Regardless of how someone else views me, whatever award, accolade, whatever someone may say — negative or positive — I appreciate and am grateful for the positive, and even for the negative. But at the end of the day, what motivates me and pushes me is to model myself after the Lord. I definitely have a lot of work to do. There’s a lot of things I want to improve on as a person, as a player, throughout all aspects of my life.”

Young was raised in a Christian household, where he was introduced to the Lord by his parents, Julie and Craig. Young credits his parents for laying the foundation of his faith, saying that as he has gotten older, his faith has only gotten stronger. “For me, it definitely goes to my roots. I’m based in faith. I’m blessed to have the family that I do that introduced me to faith when I was young. Throughout my life, my relationship has grown with the Lord and my faith has improved. Through that, I work to be the best version of myself that I can be and to embody Christ in all that I do.”