By August 24, 2024
College football makes its long-awaited return to the Queen City with the Charlotte 49ers kicking off the season against James Madison. With 71 new players, notable additions to the staff, and head coach Biff Poggi coming into his second season, the Charlotte 49ers are looking to bounce back after a lackluster 3-9 season.
While Poggi’s big personality took the city by storm a season ago, it was clear that Charlotte’s roster couldn’t cash the checks he had written. This preseason has seen a complete demeanor shift from the former hedge fund manager turned football coach, putting the focus on continuity rather than providing bulletin board material for motivation.
“I learned a lot last year. Made plenty of errors,” Poggi said during media availability. “The key thing is trying to learn from those. I probably was overly optimistic and set the bar too high.”
While Poggi has avoided laying out specific expectations for his team this time around, the confidence level within the program is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was last season. With hopes much higher than their preseason projections by the media, which ranked the 49ers 13th among 14 total AAC programs, Poggi’s second season rides heavily on the arm (and legs) of Florida transfer quarterback Max Brown.
What can Max Brown do for Charlotte?
Following two years under Billy Napier in Florida, Brown steps into the fold as a highly touted transfer for Charlotte. A three-star prospect and the 35th-ranked quarterback in the nation coming out of high school (Tulsa, Oklahoma) in 2022, Brown, now a redshirt sophomore, saw action in six games last season for the Gators. He replaced an injured Graham Mertz in Florida’s penultimate regular season game against No. 9 Missouri and got his first collegiate start the following week against No. 5 Florida State in the season finale. Despite a few freshman blunders, Brown was efficient, showing flashes of a solid Power Four starter in his limited opportunities at the SEC level.
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After a failed dual quarterback system last season for Charlotte, amounting to just seven touchdowns and 16 interceptions, Brown is inspiring confidence inside the Judy W. Rose Football Center walls, and even on the recruiting front.
“Max coming here– we saw it as a special opportunity,” Texas A&M transfer offensive lineman Jordan Spasojevic-Moko said. “When he [Max] committed, our whole offensive line committed. It was a great thing. Max can sling the ball down the field, and it’s our job to make it feel like he’s playing EA on his couch.”
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Protecting the Quarterback
With new faces gracing nearly every position group, Poggi completely revamped the offensive line, adding five Power Four transfers to surround senior center Jonny King. Highlighted by the additions of Spasojevic-Moko (Texas A&M) and Raleigh native Mitchell Mayes (Clemson), Charlotte has added some serious mass to their o-line.
While the front five has continued to shuffle through training camp, the most common grouping has seen Jordan Herman (Florida) at left tackle, Spasojevic-Moko at left guard, King at center, Mo Clipper Jr. (Tennessee) at right guard, and Mayes at right tackle. With UMass transfer Jonny Hassard and Georgia Tech transfer Tyler Gibson mixing in with the first team, Charlotte hopes to field a much deeper offensive line as John Morookian leads the unit after coaching the tight ends in 2023.
New Staff
Success starts at the top, and after struggling with connection and togetherness last season, Poggi added the a few coaches with both college and NFL experience.
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Tim Brewster, known for his recruiting prowess and tenures with Minnesota, North Carolina, and most recently Colorado under Deion Sanders, was Charlotte’s first big-name addition this offseason. Brewster joined the program as the associate head coach and tight ends coach, and even filled in for Poggi at AAC Media Day.
On the defensive side, Poggi announced that Steve Wilks; a Charlotte native, former Panthers interim head coach, and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, will assist the program in a myriad of ways from a voluntary position. Wilks, along with Panthers legend Luke Kuechly, were seen at a Charlotte 49ers practice last week.
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Staying in the Carolinas, NFL Hall of Famer Dre Bly joined as an analyst on Ryan Osborn’s defensive staff after coaching the Detroit Lions secondary a season ago. Bly, who was under Mack Brown and the Tar Heels for four seasons, has already begun luring some of the state’s top talent to Charlotte, including familiar faces from the ACC.
Balfour is back
With the safety position hampering Charlotte’s defense last season, defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn made it a point to rebuild the secondary around returning cornerback and Preseason First-Team All-AAC standout, Dontae Balfour.
Balfour originally committed to North Carolina out of high school because of Bly, and with the former Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion joining Charlotte’s staff, it wasn’t the only reunion. Ja’Qurious Conley, better known as JQ, landed with Charlotte after three seasons in Chapel Hill and has made an immediate impact in the secondary.
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“He’s a hell of a player. He’s a dog, and he’s hungry,” Balfour said of Conley. “I’m happy he’s here and he’s back there (at safety). I know the post is going to be taken care of.”
With Troy University transfer Elijah Culp earning a scholarship and emerging as the corner opposite Balfour, along with returning safety Al Ma’hi Ali (also named Preseason First-Team All-AAC by College Football Network), Charlotte’s secondary has the pieces to build on Osborn’s success in 2023, which ranked Charlotte among the top 50 pass defenses in the nation.
But just as a quarterback needs a solid offensive line, the secondary needs the pass rushers to be equally as effective.
Charlotte’s X-Factor
Despite new additions throughout Osborn’s defensive line, one returnee has the tools to elevate Charlotte’s defense to an elite level. Stone Handy, who started his career at Auburn and spent a season with Indiana, joined the 49ers in Will Healy’s final season, but was ineligible following his second transfer.
Handy played in 10 games in 2023, and started five of the season’s final six games, with his best performance coming in Charlotte’s road victory over ECU.
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Handy received Preseason Second-Team All-AAC awards from Phil Steele, a highly respected college football prognosticator, and has earned consistent praise from his teammates and coaches. He even got Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher and former 49er Alex Highsmith’s attention.
“I’ve seen some of the plays he’s made, and I’ll be tuned in to watch him this year,” Highsmith said of Handy. “I hope he’ll continue to make plays and take a jump this season. He’s got a lot of talent and potential.”
But can Handy wreck games and be the highlight of the opponent’s scouting reports? He certainly has the tools, weighing in at 252 pounds with a 6-foot-5 frame and a 4.5-second 40-yard dash time. After playing at 220 pounds last season, Handy added upwards of 30 pounds, improving on all aspects of his game, not just rushing the passer.
@Jarenhandy2 says hello ⛏️
Make sure to catch him and the rest of the Niners at the Spring game on April 20th! 🤙 pic.twitter.com/sVhApOCTnM
— Charlotte Football (@CharlotteFTBL) April 8, 2024
When asked if he can take over and wreak havoc on an opposing quarterback, Handy’s answer was simple.
“Of course I can. I feel like I’ll be playing a lot more and I’ll have a lot more opportunities to do that, be that type of person, and help out the team,” Handy said. “If I got [Dontae] Balfour behind me, we’re going to be alright.”
The Charlotte 49ers Gold Rush uniforms are now available on EA Sports College Football 25. pic.twitter.com/WWwx9F9FeZ
— CLTure® ( culture ) (@CLTure) August 29, 2024
The 49ers will kick off the 2024 college football season hosting the James Madison Dukes on Saturday, August 31 (8 p.m.) at Jerry Richardson Stadium. Charlotte will wear their new Gold Rush uniforms for the first time with fans decked out in gold for the nationally televised (ESPNU) game.
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