The Panthers sent 12 representatives to Columbus, Ohio, to watch C.J. Stroud throw. They took him to dinner on Tuesday night, getting to know one of the quarterbacks they are considering with the No. 1 overall selection.
“Very likable. Really knows football. It’s not too big for him,” Panthers General Manager Scott Fitterer said after Ohio State’s Pro Day, via Darin Gantt of the team website. “He’s very comfortable being in that environment and being in command.
“We had a great two-and-a-half-hour dinner with him. Really [as] impressive off the field as he was on.”
Fitterer, head coach Frank Reich, offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, senior assistant Jim Caldwell, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, assistant G.M. Dan Morgan and vice president of football administration Samir Suleiman are traveling together to see the top quarterbacks. Owners Dave and Nicole Tepper attended Wednesday’s workout and are continuing on the trip as well.
They were joined by director of college scouting Cole Spencer, area scout Joel Patten and senior personnel executive Jeff Morrow for an even dozen representatives Wednesday.
The Panthers left central Ohio bound for Alabama, where they’ll watch Bryce Young throw Thursday. They then head to Kentucky to see Will Levis on Friday. University of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson throws next Thursday.
All four quarterbacks are expected to make individual visits to Charlotte.
“We’ll get to see these first three quarterbacks back to back to back,” Fitterer said. “It’s a really good assessment of each guy, and we can talk about it. And at the end of this, we can sit down and kind of work through the hard decision-making process.
“You can never have enough information. You want to make the most informed decision. By doing that, you want to look at every option out there. Then you can feel really good that you’ve gone through the right process and your decision-making.”
Stroud said the dinner was intended for the sides to get to know each other.
“I mean, I kind of want to keep some of it to us just because I don’t want to put out any of their business or mine, but I had a great time,” Stroud said of the dinner. “Just having open, transparent conversations about everything.
“They showed me how they like to do things off the field and to help people in the community, and that’s something I want to be a part of.”