Charlotte 49ers land their recruits on a Bahamas beach
The Charlotte 49ers got their recruiting business done in paradise on Wednesday.
Working from a cabana on the beach at the Atlantis resort and two days ahead of his team’s appearance in the Bahamas Bowl, first-year coach Will Healy announced the 49ers had signed 18 players on the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.
Healy contacted the newly signed players — sometimes from his perch on a reclining beach chair — to welcome them to a program that’s in the midst of its first winning season and playing in its first bowl game.
“I’m sure we’ll never experience anything like this again,” said Healy. “We’re worried about the Wifi, if they’re calling, can you get (telephone) reception. Then we get them on Face Time, and you show them this your backdrop and it looks so good it looks fake.
“(The recruits) all say they wish there were here. I say, it’s your job to get me back.”
Later, as his team prepared to practice for the game against Buffalo, Healy said he was happy with his first full recruiting class at Charlotte, which includes 12 high school seniors, four transfers from junior college and two transfers from Division I programs.
“For us, we were in some big-time battles and fighting some ACC, SEC-type battles on some guys,” said Healy, who signed two players from Charlotte (offensive lineman Arabee Muslim of Mallard Creek and tight end Donta Armstrong of Vance). “I think when you do that, you win some, you lose some. But the ones you get are program changing, but you’re on the right guys. Signing day is not just collecting all the papers, you’re still fighting some battles.”
Healy is most excited about running back Tre Harbison, a grad transfer from Northern Illinois, who appears to be a more-than capable replacement for Benny LeMay, who will leave as the 49ers’ second-leading career rusher. Harbison, a product of Shelby Crest High, originally committed to Virginia before going to Northern Illinois, where he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons.
Then there’s linebacker Derek Boykins, who played one game for South Carolina as a freshman earlier this season before deciding to transfer. Boykins, who played at Central Cabarrus High just a few miles from the UNC Charlotte campus, had offers coming out of high school from programs including Clemson, North Carolina, N.C. State, East Carolina and Tennessee. He will enroll at Charlotte in January and have four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Thirteen of the signees are three-star players, according to 247 Sports Composite’s ranking, a program record.
The 49ers will lose 10 starters (four offense, six defense). Particularly hard hit will be the offensive line (where tackle Cam Clark and guards Dominic Taylor and Jalen Allen will be gone) and the defensive backfield (which loses corners Marquill Osborne and Nafees Lyon and strong safety Marquavis Gibbs). Lyon, however, could return since he missed the entire 2017 season with an injury.
The 49ers took steps to bolster the secondary, signing six players: safeties Lyndarious Strange (Iowa Western Community College), Comanche Francisco (Tyrone, Ga.), Daj’eun Gibson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and corners Briston Bennett (Franklin, Tenn.), Shedrick Ursery (Hialeah, Fla.) and Trey Creamer (Fort Scott, Kan., CC).
Strange, who started his career at Louisville, is the best of the group, according to Healy. He chose the 49ers over Houston after playing four games at Iowa Western this season.
Three offensive linemen signed Tuesday — Muslim, Panda Askew (Greenville, N.C., Conley) and center Ashton Gist (Northwest Mississippi CC).
“We knew we had to hit on some young offensive linemen,” Healy said. “We’re going to be able to move around (returning starter and center) Jaelin Fisher if we need to.”
The 49ers also signed quarterback Dominique Shoffner, who played one season at N.C. Central in 2018 before transferring to Monroe (N.Y.) College for one season.
Other signees include running back Chavon McEachern (Fayetteville Trinity School), receiver Braylin Johnson (Duncan, S.C.), tight ends Armstrong and Taylor Thompson (Prattville, Ala.), and defensive linemen Darion Smith (St. Louis) and Desmond Morgan (Winston-Salem Glenn).
The early signing period ends Friday. Healy said he expects to land five or six more players during the next signing period in February.
“We’re not done,” Healy said. “Getting those other guys in February will cap off something we feel really good about.”
That announcement will come from Charlotte, most likely. But Wednesday was memorable for Healy and his staff.
“We were on the beach, we had a cabana, had the music going,” said offensive coordinator Alex Atkins. “I tell you what, it’s always good that Club Lit travels, so we had an amazing morning with the signing day festivities.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 8:16 PM.