Protecting Bryce Young is vital. The good news? Panthers have NC’s own Ickey Ekwonu

Ickey Ekwonu knew what Bryce Young had to bear last night — the eyes on him, the expectation, the pressure of hitting the right R&B notes at the right time and earning a glorious standing ovation ...

That’s not a reference to any “football” pressure, to be clear.

That’s a reference to something much greater: that annual “rookie talent show” pressure.

“And he went first,” Ekwonu said, recounting Young’s rendition of an undisclosed Keyshia Cole song last night in front of the rest of the team. He then laughed and reminisced on his rookie-year performance: “I got a standing ovation last year, but we definitely sang along with (Bryce), so I’m going to give him the one-up on that one.”

Of course, Ekwonu knows a thing or two about the football pressure, too.

And he’s seemed to embrace that all the same.

Ekwonu, the Panthers’ first-round draft pick in 2022, has appeared to make a mighty sophomore jump this offseason, according to his teammates and himself. Although only in his second year, the 6-foot-4, 320-pound tackle has become a fixture on the Carolina offense — and that’s not only because he’s a Charlotte native and an N.C. State grad and an approachable guy with an endearing nickname.

It’s because, it appears, he’s gotten better.

“I think just confidence overall,” Ekwonu said of his biggest improvement from last year’s training camp to this one. “I feel like last year as a rookie, a lot of things I didn’t know technique-wise, practice-wise, everything like that. So now I have a good feel of how to practice, a good feel about my technique, just more confident as a player.”

The Panthers essentially return all of their offensive line from a year before. Veterans Bradley Bozeman and Austin Corbett are still around, and so are 24-year-olds Chandler Zavala and Cade Mays. (Corbett and Zavala have not practiced yet this training camp but have been present every day.) Offensive line coach James Campen was kept in the Frank Reich regime transition, too.

The group will have more eyes on it than usual this offseason. That’s particularly so because it is charged with protecting Young — the remarkable, if undersized, overall No. 1 pick who has given the Panthers fan base a renewed sense of belief ahead of 2023.

“Obviously having a continuation with our offensive line is great,” Ekwonu said. “We already have some background chemistry, so we have a lot to build off of last year. We all got to grow together.”

Shaq Thompson likes what he’s seen from Ickey Ekwonu 2.0.

“Ickey’s strong as hell!” said Thompson, the nine-year NFL veteran and a staple for the Panthers at linebacker. “But Ickey, he’s definitely improved a lot, you know what I mean? Just that first year, going through the highs and lows, but I think he has one of the best offensive line coaches in the game. And going against (Brian) Burns every day ... he’s definitely learned a lot. He’s just going to make you better.

“So he’s definitely one of those guys who’s going to improve this year.”

What struck head coach Frank Reich about Ekwonu was his size and strength, yes. (He told an anecdote Wednesday about how he was relieved his offense had Ekwonu to match up with the otherworldly specimen that is Brian Burns.) But his leadership was also striking.

In other words, don’t let Ekwonu’s big smile and lightheartedness in interviews and hometown popularity among the Panthers’ most rabid fans fool you: He can be formidable.

“I can just tell in a short time that he’s one of those kind of intimidating-type leaders,” Reich said. “Hey listen, he’s not afraid to talk, but it’s more about how he says what he says. He’s got an intensity about him.”

“He’s a competitor,” Reich added, “and he backs it up with great play.”