CHARLOTTE — "How long has he been calling the plays?" Nick Scott asked over his shoulder, his tone of voice definitely leading to something.

The answer to his question was that linebacker Trevin Wallace has been calling the defensive plays on the field in games for two weeks.

"And how many weeks have we won in a row?" Scott replied in response.

The answer to that question is also two weeks.

"Well," Scott shrugged, head tilted to help indicate his point before finally breaking with a laugh.

"I'm just kidding, but it's been going fine. He's been doing a great job."

Wallace took over the green dot—meaning he has the helmet with the sticker that signifies he's wearing the built-in communication system—two games ago for the defense. And in that time, some players say they've felt the speed pick up on the field as the second-year middle-linebacker, who has now had two years in the system, gets them in place and moving.

"I think ever since he's been calling the plays we've been playing faster, getting the calls, getting the calls quicker," noted nickel Chau Smith-Wade. "I think that it's a spot that fits for him. Not to say that it didn't fit for Boom (linebacker Christian Rozeboom), but I think that he feels more comfortable."

And others say they've noticed no difference at all, which is a compliment in and of itself.

"It's working. I didn't even know they switched, really, but it's working," praised defensive lineman Derrick Brown. "Because in practice they both call it so when we got in the game and one was calling, I never think about it. I just saw one of the guys back there calling it so when I kept seeing that people said they switched, I was like, 'Oh, right,' but my job is to keep them clean, so that's it, no matter who it is back there."

Added outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen, "To be honest, I don't feel—I would say like I don't know any difference. If it's a difference from a fan's standpoint, but to me it's just a different guy that's telling us to play, and it's just, I feel like we just came in and started playing better as a defense. I don't see a difference because to me it's just another guy…telling me what play to run."

Wallace, the Panthers' third-round pick out of Kentucky last year, has called the plays before. As a rookie, he took over the duties in Week 5 in Chicago, a week after veteran Shaq Thompson was injured, and when veteran starter Josey Jewell (who took over for Thompson) left the Chicago game with an injury.

As the linebacker has admitted before, it did not go well.

Part of the reason was that he was being thrown under a helmet he hadn't really practiced with much before, considering he was supposed to be a rookie learning behind two veterans last season. Part of it was taking on the responsibilities five games into his rookie season, when he hadn't played much to that point, to call a defense he didn't fully know yet.

And part of the reason was the accent.

"Oh yeah, definitely, I'm glad you brought it up," nodded Smith-Wade. "We've definitely had those plays where I'm like, wait, what's the play again? What's the play?

"I have to hear him say the word, you know, I'm from Denver, so that Southern accent, I got to listen a little harder."

Wallace maintains he has polished up his South Georgia accent so as to relay the plays better when he's tired and out of breath.

"I got better. People understand me," Wallace said. "Let me say it like this—you ever know when growing up and your parents get on the phone, a business call, and they say 'Put on your business voice?' That's what I've been doing."

So, has he truly lost the accent, or have his teammates just leaned to understand him?

"That's a good question," Smith-Wade said. "I feel like it's a trick question."

Nick Scott, as always, has an answer.

"It's still the same, but like I said, we kind of understand, like something sounds a certain way, but it doesn't sound like nothing, the closest thing it sounds like is probably what it is," explained Scott, giving an example, "OK, 'anything alert (mumbles).'"

Anything alert what?

"Exactly," he nodded, as Mike Jackson laughed in the background, "yeah, yeah, that's it."

"The faster he talks, the more his accent comes out," Scott continued, "but the better we've got at understanding him, plus we've got hand signals and whatnot."

Jokes aside, this was always the plan for Wallace. His first shot at the opportunity might have come sooner than he or the coaches could've imagined. Still, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero always wanted Wallace to be under the green dot helmet.

As this year has progressed, he's proven he knows the defense in a more nuanced way than he did last season, allowing him the ability to do so.

"Way better, yes," said Wallace. "It's way better to call the plays because I feel like you already know what's coming or you already know like 'OK if I call a play I know what I've got to do already,' instead of having to think when you're receiving the play."

When the coaches made the change ahead of Week 5, it was with the intent of letting Rozeboom play "freer," which Dave Canales asserts has been the case since. But it also moved Wallace into the role the Panthers had always envisioned for him.

"The thought process was always to graduate Trevin to become the green dot," Evero said Thursday. "But we didn't want to rush the process, giving him time to grow as an NFL player, and he's really sped that time clock up.

"So, we've been witnessing it for a while now and not just Trevin, but Claudin Cherelus and Christian as well and so, just kind of through that process and where we were and where we felt like we wanted to not limit ourselves in terms of who was on the field, we felt like it was the right time to get Trevin with the green dot.

"I think he's very clear, he's very commanding, he says the call more than one time, right? So it's like he repeats it over and over and over till the ball is snapped, and so I just think though, the complete command and his growth and maturation as a player, has allowed him to really excel at that job."

There is something to be said, Wallace believes, that the reason he is excelling at this job is because he excelled at a job in the past. High school, specifically.

"I think that goes on with working at, obviously, a fast food—McDonald's," he said. "You've got to have the thing going. You have to get the order and go ahead and take it in.

"Somebody's talking to the intercom to you so it's like just, (mimes communicating on a headset, then punching in an order) like that. So I've been training. I say what they order is, put it in, boom."

Whether or not there is a direct correlation can be up for debate. But one can't argue with the results. The defense has given up an average of only 270 yards in the last two games and allowed a total of only 50 rushing yards. There are a lot of factors at play, but starting each snap with confidence and speed has been a part of the change.

And that comes back to Trevin Wallace.

"All jokes aside, he's just, I mean, communication-wise, play recognition-wise, and all that stuff, he's grown a lot and doing a lot better, just overall," praised Scott. "So kudos to him for earning that role, and he's been helping us win just like usual."