Frustration and hope: How Charlotte 49ers football grades out at end of tumultuous season

Although Charlotte is in an offseason of change following Biff Poggi’s dismissal, and what’s reported to be the imminent hire of the program’s fourth head coach, the 49ers posted one of the better seasons in their brief history in 2024.

It wasn’t without head-shaking quotes from Poggi, social media disputes among coaches and fans, injuries at every position, firings, transfer portal moves and dramatic finishes. That said, the 49ers’ 5-7 record in 2024 is tied for second best in the program’s 12 years.

The season’s highlight was a beatdown of in-state conference rival East Carolina, during which Charlotte scored 55 points and expedited the firing of head coach Mike Houston. But after that win got Charlotte to .500 for the first and only time all season, it all went left.

What was a 5-7 overall record, 4-4 in American Athletic Conference play, could have very easily been 2-10, if not 1-11. The 49ers won two games (Rice and UAB) on missed chip-shot field goals, including the season-ending victory over the Blazers, where one of the best kickers in the country missed a 35-yarder and 27-yarder on consecutive plays.

And while Poggi’s job security fluctuated nearly every week, his tenure was nearly doomed in the third week of the season before third-string quarterback Trexler Ivey’s heroics saved the staff, bringing the 49ers back from 17 down against FCS Gardner-Webb in front of a sold-out Jerry Richardson Stadium.

Despite five losses of 20 or more points, three of which came at home, there was one constant for the 49ers in 2024 — the fan base showed up.

Charlotte averaged 14,137 fans per game in a stadium that seats 15,300. The 49ers’ first three home games were all sellouts, with the average dragged down by just 8,091 in attendance for the season finale against the Blazers.

What could have been yet another tumultuous season showed a semblance of promise in the final two weeks, with the 49ers scoring victories over struggling programs Florida Atlantic and UAB under interim head coach Tim Brewster.

The 49ers seemed to resolve their second-consecutive season of a quarterback carousel in the final quarter of the year, with true freshman DeShawn Purdie taking the reigns and playing the best game of his young career against the Owls in Boca Raton. But as the coaching hire looms, key contributors are entering the portal daily, and the building blocks for next season are in question.

With the program’s future up in the air, here’s a look at how the 49ers graded out in 2024:

Rushing offense

A key pain point in the Poggi era was the head coach’s involvement in play-calling, overtaking offensive coordinator Mike Miller’s calls early and often. In Poggi’s two seasons, Charlotte never had the personnel to play the brand of smashmouth football that Poggi promised in his introductory press conference.

And despite Hahsaun Wilson’s emergence and the addition of Cartevious Norton from Iowa State, Charlotte recorded just 117 yards per game on the ground — good for 107th out of 133 FBS teams. The 49ers averaged just 3.6 yards per carry and produced sub-100 yards as a team on five occasions.

The highlight, and what Poggi hoped to be the blueprint, came against East Carolina. The 49ers poured in 311 yards on the ground, which was 124 yards more than any other game on the schedule. Athletic director Mike Hill called that performance an “outlier,” stating that Charlotte couldn’t replicate that level of success — and he was right.

Tackle Kendall Stanley was Charlotte’s highest-graded starting run blocker, with a grade of 68.1, and Terron Kellman was the highest-rated tailback at 75.7, despite playing in just eight games and seeing 48 carries.

With three different quarterbacks seeing starts on the year and playing over half the season with a two-quarterback system, Charlotte couldn’t sustain success on the ground and get ahead of the chains — contributing to the sixth-worst third down conversion percentage in the nation at 30.7% (up from 23.67% in 2023).

Grade: D

Passing offense

Poggi made a lot of claims in his first season in Charlotte, including stating that the 49ers would be in the College Football Playoff. And while he took a step back in the predictions department after a 3-9 season in 2023, Poggi said that Florida transfer Max Brown was a “Ferrari,” meaning that the redshirt sophomore signal-caller would be among the best in the conference.

After a sizeable NIL investment for Brown of around $150K, the new quarterback posted a 22.3 quarterback rating and tossed three touchdowns and six interceptions in five games. An injury to his throwing hand in the second week of the season derailed Brown’s one-year tenure at Charlotte, as he’s since entered the portal for the second consecutive off-season.

Part of where Poggi went wrong was the commitment to Brown following his return from injury, specifically after Purdie’s season-saving performance against Rice and dominating win over East Carolina in back-to-back weeks. But even when Purdie was at the helm, it wasn’t always pretty.

The true freshman threw for 1,802 yards, 10 touchdowns, and six interceptions while completing just 50% of his passes. It was clear that Purdie was improving as the season progressed, playing in nine games and throwing for a career-best 396 yards and three touchdowns in the season’s penultimate bout against Florida Atlantic.

And while Charlotte’s tight ends commanded the lion’s share of targets in 2023, it was all wideouts in 2024. South Carolina transfer O’Mega Blake led the way with 795 yards and nine touchdowns, tying a program record. Wideout Sean Brown posted his best season to date, recording 470 yards and a touchdown, and the team’s receiving leader from 2023 Jairus Mack had 19 catches on the year for 418 yards.

The inconsistency at signal-caller, plus Poggi’s run-first mentality, marred any chance of a prolific passing game with the 49ers living in the middle of the pack with 224 yards per game (74th in the nation). And while the defense was a strength a season ago, it repeatedly let the 49ers down this season — combined with a sputtering offense that averaged just four points in the first quarter, culminating in a handful of lopsided losses.

Grade: C-

Rushing defense

Charlotte’s rushing defense showed up with timely stops in a few key spots in 2024 but was far and away the team’s overall demise. Charlotte allowed over 210 yards on the ground per game, marking seven instances of surrendering over 200 yards — with the floodgates opening as South Florida rushed for 425 yards two nights before Poggi’s firing.

The 49ers couldn’t replace the standout linebacker duo of Nikhai Hill-Green (Colorado) and Demetrius Knight (South Carolina) from 2023, and the interior defensive line was routinely out of position as opponents gashed Charlotte’s front seven on a weekly basis.

There was just one game on the season where the 49ers prevented a rushing touchdown, coming in the narrow victory over Rice in Week 5. Ryan Osborn’s defense allowed six rushing touchdowns on two separate occasions — to Indiana and South Florida.

The overall defense took a major step back from Osborn’s first season, and the run defense was the main culprit.

Grade: F

Passing defense

When opponents can get anything they want on the ground, passing situations aren’t as frequent. And that was Charlotte’s case, allowing 222 yards through the air per game, good for 76th in the nation.

Opposing quarterbacks averaged 12.98 yards per completion, attacking Charlotte in the middle of the field repeatedly. The linebacking trio of Reid Williford, Cam Burden, and Prince Wallace-Bemah allowed 68 catches on 86 targets (79%) and well over 600 yards after the catch on the season, according to Pro Football Focus.

The cornerback and safety combo of Dontae Balfour and Al-Ma’hi Ali were Charlotte’s best bets in the secondary, combining for 16 pass breakups and four interceptions. Balfour had breakups, tying the school record.

The lack of the pass rush magnified Charlotte’s problems in the back end, totaling just 17 sacks on the season. For reference, former 49er and current Pittsburgh Steeler Alex Highsmith accumulated 14.5 sacks in his All-American season in 2019.

Chantz Williams led the group with four sacks. Stone Handy, who was labeled as a “game-wrecker” by the staff before the season, recorded just one sack. The 49ers recorded 10 interceptions and forced two fumbles, but ultimately lost the turnover margin at -9 (tied for 118th in the FBS).

After such a promising first season under Osborn, year two was a major step back.

Grade: D+

Special teams

If you’re searching for a bright spot outside of Purdie’s potential, it was Charlotte’s special teams. The 49ers didn’t miss a field goal or extra point all season, with the duo of Stephen Rusnak (11 for 11) and Kyle Cunanan (5 for 5) converting every time they were called upon.

Rusnak was the lead kicker, connecting on all three of his 50-plus yard attempts, with a long of 54 in the comeback victory over Gardner-Webb. He connected on a program-record four field goals against Florida Atlantic, marking his career-best performance.

And following their success, both kickers, plus long-snapper Adam Booker have entered the transfer portal.

Punter Michael O’Shaughnessy had his ups and downs, but was awarded two AAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors following punts of 73 and 77 yards, with the latter breaking the school record.

The return game was solid with Henry Rutledge serving as both kick and punt returner for much of the season, resulting in multiple explosive plays — but no return touchdowns. Charlotte’s special teams, coached by Greg Froelich, was the most consistent unit all season. Rarely did they commit self-inflicted wounds, and making all 46 combined kicks calls for the team’s best grade.

Grade: A

Overall grade

Charlotte started the season with “eight or nine starters injured” after the team’s training camp and suffered three lopsided losses in what was a brutal non-conference slate. But even after rebounding against Rice and East Carolina, the season turned for the worst following a heartbreaking loss at Memphis.

Leading by five with 1:20 to play, Charlotte squandered any opportunity to become bowl-eligible, watching the Tigers walk right down the field and steal a victory. Two weeks later, Poggi was fired, and the 49ers were back on the market for their second head coach in the last two years.

The biggest “what if” revolves around the quarterbacks, with Purdie finding his footing in the second half of the season. Had the true freshman played from the jump, could Charlotte have pulled out one more win, gotten back to bowl contention and saved Poggi’s job? Players and staff believe so.

There was one game all season where Charlotte played complimentary football, and it was in the lopsided victory over East Carolina. And still, Charlotte was penalized 12 times in the win for over 100 yards.

Overall, Charlotte was a poorly coached football team.

“I think this is, sadly, one of the most talented teams Charlotte will ever have,” wideout Sean Brown said. “We just couldn’t put it together this year, but it was nice getting five (wins) out of it.”

Five wins in what was a troublesome season weren’t enough for Hill to keep Poggi, but it was an uptick from the past two seasons, marking the 49ers’ best record since 2021.

Grade: C-

This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 6:30 AM.