The Carolina Panthers will be getting a lot faster in the secondary with their newest cornerback Troy Pride Jr., who was selected by the Panthers in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Notre Dame two-sport athlete ran track in addition to playing football and plans to use his speed, competitiveness and athleticism in Carolina.
"I think I'm a competitive beast," Pride Jr. said. "My will to win is higher than a lot of individuals and I think that my competitive advantage is going to keep me with any athlete that I play against and any system that I play in."
As a Greer, S.C. native, Pride Jr. will return to the Carolinas after spending four years at Notre Dame and holds the abilities to help build up a Panthers secondary that allowed 11.5 yards per pass completion last season.
Being in the NFC South with quarterbacks Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan, who are surrounded by a handful of All-Pro receivers, Pride Jr. will have his work cut out for him immediately.
"I've already envisioned that and set myself up for that," Pride Jr. said. "I've always been working for the best and to have the best in our division with Michael Thomas, Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Tom Brady, Drews Brees, and all those guys, it's going to be wonderful. You relish those opportunities to compete against the best."
The one thing Pride Jr. isn't worried about is his speed.
He ran a 4.40 at the NFL Combine, which he says was an off day.
"Track is interesting because it's just you," he said. "You're not relying on anyone else to help you and if you don't perform you're not going to do well that day. It really helped up my competitive nature running and doing football workouts. It made it more mentally tough and dealing with adversity."
Pride Jr. won't be the only young cornerback on the Panthers roster with speed and a track background.
Third-year corner Donte Jackson is the only returning cornerback for Carolina and Pride Jr., despite not knowing Jackson personally, is ready for the competitions.
"I think truly, if I get that first step, it's up for grabs," Pride Jr. said. "The day I walked on Notre Dame's campus I was the fastest guy and I believe it again. If we run I want to see what happens."
Pride Jr. joins Southern Illinois safety Jeremy Chinn as the second secondary player that the Panthers have drafted so far.
While Pride Jr. says he doesn't believe he "dropped" into the fourth round and fell into the right place, he does think teams made a mistake waiting on choosing him.
"No question. Just the potential that I have and the way that I work is going to set me up for success and the Carolina Panthers will see the success," he said. "Everyone else will just have to watch from afar."