As Charlotte 49ers begin spring football, coach Biff Poggi optimistic: ‘I really like it’
Saturday morning marked the first practice in full pads for the Charlotte 49ers, led by second-year head coach Biff Poggi.
While the cigar remains in Poggi’s hand, the 64-year-old coach’s demeanor is much different. The last time Charlotte fans saw Poggi’s 49ers was in a season-ending loss in Tampa against South Florida, concluding year one with a 3-9 overall record.
Following the season finale, Poggi told the media that his team lacked depth and desperately needed a new quarterback.
“We’ve got to get some players in the door, and we have to address the quarterback position. We have to address the defensive backfield and the interior defensive line. We just don’t have any depth,” Poggi said in November. “We will map out the whole year going forward. We’ll map out the next 12 months — every day. What we’re going to do policy, procedure, scheme, hiring, every workout, every practice — everything. Then we’ll get to work on implementing it.”
Nearly four months later, Poggi has his quarterback, a new crop of skill players, a revamped defense and a new perspective in year two.
“I learned so much last year — so much I didn’t know,” Poggi told The Observer. “We’re a much more disciplined team. We’re a much closer team, and we’re a better-conditioned team. I really like it.”
Here are three storylines to watch for the 49ers, who have completed three of their 14 spring practices leading up to the team’s April 20 spring game at Richardson Stadium.
POGGI GOT HIS GUY
After nearly a full season of a two-quarterback system, Poggi is confident that Charlotte has found its guy. Max Brown, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound Florida transfer, joined the 49ers this offseason, bringing along one of his best friends and former Gator, left tackle Jordan Herman (6-foot-8, 375 pounds).
A redshirt sophomore, Brown played in six games for the Gators last season, seeing one start against Florida State in Graham Mertz’s absence. Brown was a three-star prospect out of Lincoln Christian School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has three years of collegiate eligibility remaining.
“Anybody who watched us last year knows that that was the Achilles’ heel of the team. We made it a priority to get a guy, and we got Max Brown,” said Poggi. “(Max) is everything I hoped he was going to be, and even more. He has innate leadership abilities. First year, slapping a team together last year, we were desperately missing leadership. This kid has given us team leadership, and a lot of the kids we’ve brought in are natural leaders too – so we have a great foundation under him.
“Max is smart. He gets the concepts of the game and learns quickly and is really a good player. He has a live arm; he can run and is making the right reads,” Poggi continued. “We’re going to be able to do a lot of really cool stuff with him. He’s growing leaps and bounds every day. The ball comes out fast, and if you do everything right on defense, he can put it in tight windows.”
On the first day in full pads, Brown worked with the first team, with returning split-starter from 2023 Trexler Ivey with the second team, and true freshman DeShawn Purdie working with the threes.
Brown moved his feet well, showed comfort stepping up in the pocket and was able to extend plays with his legs with regularity. His two best passes of the first day in full pads were a cross-body throw rolling to his left, putting the ball on a rope between two defenders and finding Colin Weber, followed by a deep jump-ball to Independence C.C. transfer Isaiah Myers down Charlotte’s home sideline.
Ivey showed improved pocket presence from a season ago, and despite making a few freshman mistakes, Purdie showed the ability to throw the long ball and break the pocket.
“We’ve got Trexler (Ivey), Steven (Johnson), Carson (Black) and we really like Deshawn Purdie. He’s 6-foot-5 and has a rocket arm and he can run. He’s young and learning, so we have some really good depth at that position,” Poggi said.
As the quarterback battle unfolds through the spring, who will be catching the ball is equally as important — and the 49ers didn’t have a single receiver over 500 yards for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
ON THE PERIMETER
Despite the loss of Jack Hestera to the transfer portal just days before spring practice began, Poggi thinks Charlotte’s receiver room is much improved — and more help is on the way.
“We needed to add some size to that room. We had a smaller group of receivers last year, and we’re very appreciative of what Jack (Hestera) did for us,” said Poggi. “That is now becoming a deep room, and it will be even deeper in the second transfer portal window. Jaden Bradley is back and doing great, and Justin Olson is just terrific. Isaiah Myers has excellent hands and can run. It’s a different-looking group, and it will continue to grow.”
Myers and Jairus “No-No” Mack, Charlotte’s leading receiver from a season ago, were the two most impressive wideouts on the first day. Mack’s speed and improved route running were on display early, breaking off a defensive back in man coverage and toe dragging a corner route to bring one of the biggest roars of the day from Charlotte’s offensive sideline.
Myers is the tallest wideout on the roster, listed at 6-foot-5, 185 pounds. Catching deep passes from each of Charlotte’s top three quarterbacks — Brown, Ivey and Purdie — Myers brings a much-needed jump-ball presence to Charlotte’s roster that was absent last season. The former three-star junior college recruit worked with the second team for much of opening day, behind returning wideout Jaden Bradley.
After playing in all 12 games as a true freshman, and starting nine of them, Duane Thomas Jr. returns in the slot for the 49ers. Thomas caught 24 passes for 244 yards as a freshman and will continue to contribute to Mike Miller’s offense in 2024.
The perimeter matchup to watch was a pair of returnees — Mack and Charlotte’s best cornerback, Dontae Balfour. There is a clear respect between the two, and Charlotte’s defensive backfield looks much improved from a season ago. But it all starts up front, where Charlotte has a new crop of talent.
REVAMPED FRONT SEVEN
Charlotte’s defense kept the 49ers competitive last season, and with key returnees at each level and a mix of talented transfers, Poggi is excited about another season with defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn leading the group.
Despite Eyabi Okie-Anoma moving on to the NFL and leading tackler Demetrius Knight transferring to South Carolina, edges Stone Handy and Demon Clowney have both had impressive off-seasons and will have much bigger roles, according to Poggi.
“Stone Handy is back, and he’s put on about 17 pounds of muscle this off-season. He is in a great place, and he’ll be a force,” said Poggi. “Demon Clowney looks terrific and is finally healthy. He had some surgeries over the winter that he needed to have — he played hurt all of last year. I think you’ll see a great year out of him.
Redshirt junior Mike Kelly, whom Poggi called a “warrior”, is back for his redshirt junior season and made multiple key plays in 11-on-11, including batting down one of Brown’s passes at the line of scrimmage.
With returnees Jalar Holley and Dez Morgan continuing to recover from off-season surgeries, there were multiple new faces on the defensive front — and just like at wideout, more help is on the way.
“Donovan Spellman (Appalachian State transfer) is a really good pass rusher, and we’re going to add to that room in the portal, too,” Poggi said. “Katron Evans (Jacksonville State transfer), we think he’ll be a force. He’s had an unbelievable offseason. Dre Butler from Michigan State is terrific. Dre Martin from South Carolina is enormous and athletic. We’re very pleased with that room.”
Despite entering the transfer portal after last season, Charlotte’s second-leading tackler, Nikhai Hill-Green, is back in green and gold. Osborn spoke highly of Hill-Green last year, and the 49ers are happy to have him back for another year.
“You expect things out of people, especially players that you believe in. Intrinsically, not all these guys are built and wired the same way — they’re just not. Talking about Nikhai and Eyabi (Okie-Anoma) — those guys are built a little bit different. I expect a lot more out of them than I would someone else,” Osborn said last year. “That being said, I am harder on them, and I press them. Because on Saturdays, when the bullets are flying, they need to be able to go and play, play hard, and play to our standard.”
Charlotte’s defense climbed 67 spots in total defense in Osborn’s first year, ranking 60th in the FBS and seventh in the American Athletic Conference. With a new quarterback, new targets and increased depth on the defense, Charlotte has ample opportunity to build on the foundation laid in year one.
