CHARLOTTE — D.J. Wonnum knew the period should have been over. The whole defense knew the period should have been over.

But Dave Canales just kept calling plays.

"We knew for sure it was supposed to be eight plays at first," smiled Wonnum, "but I mean, you never know what happens on the field, you've got to be ready for whatever. So I think we end up taking maybe 16, 15–16 snaps."

It was the last period of the last practice of the 2025 training camp, and knowing the starters aren't playing in the final preseason game Thursday night, Canales didn't want to bring the physicality to an abrupt stop; and the period was extremely physical, from hard thud hits to contested catches, heightened emotions, and passionate responses.

It was part and parcel of Canales' message before practice in the team meeting, "Last day in pads, let's capture it."

The coach admitted afterwards he might have asked the guys to push too hard, given some of the tempers that flared during the final period. But learning to push right up against that line while embracing the physicality is a major pillar of who he wants the Panthers to be. So when given the opening to test their mettle, Canales took it.

"I kind of had about half the amount of plays planned at the end in that move-the-ball, but it just felt like football and I was like there's no way—I'm not going to be able to look at Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn and Derrick Brown—I'm not going to be able to look them in the face if I call this move the ball scrimmage period right now.

"They want to play football. Bryce Young wants to play. The drive was going on."

So, with each additional play, the Panthers had another chance to work on who they are and who they're going to be this season. It was also an opportunity to strain, preparing for the tough days that are sure to come in the season.

"Half of our team played a lot of football just a couple of days ago, so they had to call it up," Canales said. "I've just kind of said to them like, 'This is what it feels like on Wednesday after just a really physical game, you know, every week it's super physical in this league, but you have to just—you're not fully healthy by Wednesday, you're completely sore still. There's this and that, and you have to make a decision to go.'

"And they did that."

Other than the opening play when Hubbard ran in a touchdown on a busted play, the starting defense kept the starting offense out of the end zone for the other 15 plays. And the offense took plenty of shots towards the end zone.

Each play—and additional play—pushed the defense to stand their ground to close out a training camp that the offense has owned too often.

"(It) was good for us, especially the guys that possibly won't be playing on Thursday, so yeah, just building that callus, getting us in shape, getting us ready to go to play football was good.

"That just goes down to bend but don't break, back against the wall, offense driving down the field, you know what I'm saying, we can't get in our heads. We got to continue to play, continue to fight, and that's what we did, and that's a step in the right direction for the defense."

Through the end of the 2024 season, the offense found a groove and growth trajectory, staying in games, pushing some to overtime, and winning them there. The defense knows they have to match that level after setting league-worst records. It's been a focus of the entire offseason, from bringing in free agents to drafting to fill the front seven and demanding more in practice.

So, as the Panthers wrapped up training camp for the offseason, preparing to head into a regular season that could define an era, they took one more play, then another, then another, determined to set a foundation that won't shake this year.

"That competitive nature started to come out," Wonnum said of the period. "Something that we love and, even my coach said it, like that's something we need to have within the team, within the guys, going back and forth at each other, pushing each other, and at the end of the day that's going to keep making us better."