Carolina Panthers quarterback coach Scott Turner was struck by all the changes in uptown when he returned to Charlotte following a five-year absence:
The glut of apartment and condo buildings, the gleaming BB&T Ballpark with its skyline views and the myriad activities at Romare Bearden Park.
Turner also noticed growth in the person he’ll be spending pretty much all fall with — Panthers eighth-year quarterback Cam Newton.
When Turner left after the 2012 season to join Rob Chudzinski in Cleveland, Newton was a 23-year-old who’d thrown for nearly 8,000 yards his first two years but had not tasted a winning season.