Panthers rookie cornerback Josh Norman, a fifth-round pick, made a real go of non-contact minicamps and was very confident when speaking with the Carolina Observer. "I was like, 'Oh yeah, I'm loving it, I'm absolutely loving it,' Norman said of his first times lined up directly across from Steve Smith. "Going against the best brings the best out of you. You want to beat him. So obviously every nick, every turn, you want to stay right on him and see if you can match up with the best." And how did it go? "He'd get frustrated," Norman said. "He'd throw his hands in the air. He'd have a couple words ..." So ... the rookie beat the veteran? "Absolutely, man ... All the other guys are like, 'Ah, man, he's shifty.' Whatever! Let's go. I'm all for a challenge." Smith had a different view of the battle between the two. "For a young guy, he's coming out and he's playing well. But as far as how much swagger and he loves to compete, I look at it like all the other veterans — May and June you just kind of cruise a little bit just to get through," Smith said. "Once late July, August comes, he's going to learn very quickly this isn't Coastal Carolina. I look forward to camp. I hope he looks forward to camp, just like all the other DBs because the first week is never a good day for them when we've got this offense with Chud (offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski). It's going to be early and often and real quick."