Ultimate guide to Charlotte 49ers football season. Huge games and high expectations

Expectations are high as Will Healy enters his third year as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers, who are aiming for their second bowl appearance in three years.

Healy’s team will have a chance to put 2020 in the rearview mirror as it welcomes an in-state ACC opponent in Duke to Jerry Richardson Stadium for the season opener.

Arguably no team was affected more by COVID-19 than the 49ers. Charlotte had nine canceled games, five coming within 24 hours of kickoff. With the disjointed 2020 season in the past, the 49ers are pushing ahead to their season opener Sept. 3.

“It’s exciting to be talking about a season, and it’ll be even more exciting to play a game on the date as scheduled,” Healy said. “Last year is not the college experience that I want for these guys. Going 2-4 and having nine games canceled is not the student-athlete experience I want for them, and I take that personally. I’ve lost sleep over that. So to say I’m ready for 2021 is an understatement.”

Two years removed from the program’s first bowl game and winning season, this roster is filled with young talent mixed with veteran leaders and several incoming Power 5 transfers. Piecing together a winning season is attainable, but questions surrounding depth and newcomers remain.

Carrying the load

▪ Chris Reynolds, QB. Offensively, the weight is going to fall on the quarterback. Following a program-best 28-touchdown season in 2019, Reynolds’ production dipped after tearing the labrum in his throwing shoulder on the first play of the 2020 season. Reynolds didn’t miss a single snap, but his performance suffered, posting the lowest completion percentage of his career at 54.9%. Reynolds must return to his 2019 form both through the air and on the ground to keep this team in contention for the Conference USA East crown.

Unlike last year, the quarterback room has more than two scholarship quarterbacks with the additions of Texas A&M transfer James Foster and freshman Xavier Williams. Healy has made it clear that this is Reynolds’ job to lose, but watch for Foster to contribute to the offense in several ways throughout the season, including designed runs and two-quarterback looks.

▪ Victor Tucker, WR. He has been Mr. Consistent for the past three seasons, leading the 49ers in receptions (136), receiving yards (2,021) and touchdowns (11) since 2018. In his final season, Tucker must continue to provide explosiveness and the ability to stretch the field with his speed, especially with the loss of Micaleous Elder to the transfer portal.

▪ Veteran defenders. When watching the film from last season’s matchup with Duke, there are only four players who are returning from that defensive lineup: defensive end Markees Watts, linebackers Tyler Murray and Luke Martin and defensive back Antone Williams. With several transfers, this group is completely revamped from 2020.

In 2019, Watts benefited greatly from having current Pittsburgh Steeler Alex Highsmith opposite him on the defensive line. Highsmith was double-teamed nearly every play, leaving Watts with regular one-on-one matchups. Taking that next step and creating chaos in the backfield would propel this unit, and Watts has the physicality and motor to do so.

Murray broke onto the scene with a 14-tackle performance with two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and an interception in his debut against Appalachian State. The Troy transfer led the team with 48 tackles and two interceptions in 2020. Murray must lead the defense and step into the role of communicating the play and getting the unit lined up in his senior season.

The secondary is constructed entirely of Power 5 transfers, with the leader being Jon Alexander (Kansas State). In his final college season, this is Alexander’s first shot at being a full-time starter and he must take advantage and bring his playmaking ability to a defense that hasn’t scored since 2019.

Areas of concern

▪ It’s all up front. The 49ers’ two biggest areas of concern reside on the line of scrimmage. While the offensive and defensive lines have added Power 5 transfers, both units have taken major hits through graduation and the transfer portal.

Starting on defense, rushing the passer was abysmal in 2020. In a six-game season, the 49ers recorded just five sacks. Watts was tabbed as a preseason C-USA first-team defensive end but battled injuries all season, recording just two sacks following his 9.5 in 2019.

Watts will likely be the only returning starter from last season’s front four, with transfers Joshua Bailey (Iowa State) and Kofi Wardlow (Notre Dame) entering the rotation. Wardlow had a strong showing in the spring game but must take a step forward with technique and gap control to emerge as the starting defensive end opposite Watts.

The offensive line returns three starters from last season, but depth is still a concern following the loss of right tackle Jon Jacobs with a torn ACL. This unit is what makes the offense go, and new offensive line coach Pete Rossomando has his work cut out for him. Reynolds was sacked 15 times through six games in 2020, and while he will say at least 12 of them were his fault for not working through his reads, he was under pressure for 38% of his passes and wasn’t blitzed on 10 of the sacks.

Left tackle D’Mitri Emmanuel returns for his senior season, with Penn State transfer Hunter Kelly and Ashton Gist rounding out the returning starters. The loss of the highest-rated recruit in program history, Ty’Kiest Crawford, after just one season is a major loss, but Florida transfer TJ Moore and Arkansas transfer Chibueze Nwanna are welcomed additions to a room that started four lineup combinations in 2020.

Can’t-miss game

▪ Duke, Sept. 3

For the first time in program history, the 49ers will face two Power 5 schools in the same season. Charlotte hosts Duke, its first-ever home game against an ACC opponent, in a Friday night matchup on CBS Sports Network. When the Blue Devils come to town it will have been 736 days since the last sell-out crowd at Jerry Richardson Stadium (Gardner-Webb, 2019).

The potential for the biggest win in program history is within reach, but the 49ers must put a better product on the field following the 53-19 loss in last year’s matchup with the Blue Devils in Durham.

“Every team in the country has the same aspiration, and that’s to go undefeated,” Healy said. “That’s an internal expectation with us, but it’s got to be something we prove on the field. We want to win Power 5 football games. Well, we had the opportunity to do that last year and Duke blew us out. We’re excited about hosting Duke at home, a Power 5 football game, that’s great. If you don’t perform well, it’s just them doing you a favor by coming here.”

A successful season is ...

In his first season at Charlotte, Healy, 36, took the 49ers to their first bowl game and recorded the first winning season in program history. Following a 2-4 cancellation-riddled season in 2020, getting back in the win column and recapturing the energy that fueled the late-season surge in 2019 is critical.

The 49ers need a winning record this season padded by victories at home. They played just two home games last season — a 38-28 victory over Texas-El Paso and a 37-19 loss against Western Kentucky on senior day. Three of the Niners’ first four games are played at Richardson Stadium, and avoiding a poor start to the season will drive fan attendance.

The opportunity to get the fans involved starts with consecutive games against in-state foes as Gardner-Webb comes to town Sept. 11. Charlotte is yet to secure a victory over a Power 5 program, but the season opener against Duke and a trip to Illinois in October provide two more opportunities to turn the corner.

Charlotte 49ers projected starters

Charlotte 49ers 2021 football schedule

This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 9:30 AM.