Young cancer warrior scores for Panthers as quarterback for a day

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Saturday night’s Carolina Panthers Fan Fest ended on a touchdown by No. 26.

But fans may have been double-checking their programs, since there isn’t a No. 26 on Carolina’s offense.

That is, before a last-minute addition to the team’s roster ahead of practice, when they signed 12-year-old quarterback Jase Garland.

Garland, from Candler, is courageously battling Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a form of bone cancer.

His wish was to be the Panthers quarterback for a day, so the team and Make-A-Wish were happy to grant his request.

Garland received a tour of the stadium, ate spaghetti from the team chef and got to hang out with the quarterbacks.

“It was cool,” he said. “I got to be in there with all of the quarterbacks and talk with them.”

Jase was in full uniform, complete with a black visor and got in at the end of practice, where Bryce Young welcomed him to the field.

Then, he ran for the walk-off touchdown.

“It was amazing,” Erin Garland, Jase’s mom said. “None of us knew how big this was going to be for him. He’ll never forget.”

Head Coach Dave Canales, who addressed the crowd of about 45,000 before practice, said Jase’s moment and the entire night was about connecting with fans who were not able to attend training camp this year.

“It’s our greater Carolinas community and commitment from our guys to make this a better place to live,” Canales said. “The guys don’t understand the impact they can have on people just by spending a little bit of time, going to see someone, taking a picture with somebody, connecting with our fanbase.”

Carolina continues training camp on Tuesday morning before welcoming the Cleveland Browns for a joint practice Wednesday, and preseason opener on Friday.

Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.

You can stream WCNC Charlotte on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, just download the free WCNC+ app to get the news that impacts you.