The Carolina Panthers gave up quite the bundle to acquire the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They traded the Chicago Bears four draft picks, two each in the first and second rounds, plus a Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver in DJ Moore (even though he’s yet to officially earn such honors) in exchange for the top selection.
Carolina used its top draft position to select a highly-coveted quarterback out of Alabama, Bryce Young. Seven games is an admittedly small sample size, but it’s fair to say the jury remains out on Young through the opening stretch of his pro career.
Young’s counting stats thus far total 1,375 passing yards (196 per game), eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns in just one of his seven starts but has thrown multiple picks in three separate games. Most disappointingly, his Panthers sport a dismal 1-7 record through the season’s midway point.
Young’s detractors might be feeling vindicated by those numbers, but the 22-year-old has fared respectably given the lack of talent around him. Not necessarily “sell the farm” respectably to this point, but he’s got ample time to close the likely-exaggerated gap between him and fellow rookie CJ Stroud.
Young’s next attempt to prove his worth will come this Thursday night when his Panthers play host to, ironically enough, the Bears. There’ll be a fleet of Carolina fans cheering Young on at Bank of America Stadium, with some friends and family likely peppered in.
Which brings us to the question posed in the headline.
Who Are Bryce Young’s Parents, Craig and Julie Young?
As so often seems to be the case for athletes at the highest level, Bryce Young’s parents had some athletic chops of their own. Bryce’s father, Craig Young, was a standout high school quarterback and went on to coach his son during much of his scholastic playing career.
He acknowledged in a pre-draft interview with Sports Illustrated (SI) that he sometimes struggled to toe the line between coach and father.
This moment of Bryce Young with his parents Craig and Julie is EVERYTHING pic.twitter.com/N7Rx007Bee
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) June 28, 2023
“I didn’t reach my own potential athletically. I didn’t get the best coaching. There’s a chance I stopped playing because I quit, and I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen to him,” Young said. “So if I saw weakness, or what I perceived to be weakness, I was going to yell it out of him or shame it out of him, coach him harder than I coached other players.
That eventually led to frustrations for the family as a whole and led the elder Young to realize positive reinforcement was a better motivational tool than harsh criticism.
“I didn’t realize how much power my words—especially coming from a parent—had,” Craig says. “I started speaking positively. I told him there was no other quarterback I’d rather have in the world.”
A lot of athletes struggle with the pressure of trying to live up to expectations, especially those of their parents. Craig saw the potential for that to happen with Bryce, but he recognized his own shortcomings and put the effort in to correct them. That’s not too surprising when one considers his background and occupation.
Per his website, Craig is a skilled mental health therapist and has been practicing in his field for over a quarter-century now. He boasts a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s in marriage and family therapy. He’s a celebrated public speaker and has been featured on dozens of prominent platforms.
MORE: List of No. 1 Picks in NFL Draft History
In short, he’s doubtlessly been a good influence for Bryce to have around throughout his adolescence. The same could be said of Bryce’s mother, Julie Young.
Julie and Craig have been married for almost 30 years now, tying the knot back in 1995 (per People). Julie’s been a special education teacher for nearly as long, with over 25 years of experience. SI describes her as “one of those teachers you hope your kid lands with at school.”
The celebrated publication also shared an anecdote illustrating how much effort Julie puts into, and what kind of progress she begets from, her students.
“Once, when a special needs student was brought into Julie’s special ed class midyear, the child’s occupational therapist warned Julie that the kid “doesn’t do a whole lot” and was basically limited to cause-and-effect toys. She smiled, nodded, and by the end of the year, taught the student the alphabet, how to type their name on a computer, and how to sound out a few small words.”
As mentioned, Julie was also a standout athlete in her own right. More specifically, she was a star high school soccer player. She traveled to Australia with an under-16 national team and went on to play collegiately at Cal Poly Pomona. Bryce was amazed to learn this, and equally amazed at Mom’s humility about it.
“I didn’t know this about her for almost my entire childhood,” Bryce shared in September 2023. “It took for someone else to tell me just how good she was … Then when I asked her, she was like, ‘Oh, I tried my best. I had fun.’ But in reality, she was one of the best players in the country.”
Bryce Young’s parents have arrived… pic.twitter.com/YzHvsysSnq
— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) July 26, 2023
Of course, the same could be said for Julie and Craig’s son, Bryce, throughout most of his athletic career. The jury remains out on his pro career to this point, but we know he’s got the gifts. And if the experiences of his parents are any indication, he’s certainly got the foundation in place, as well.
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