Three-man competition at QB continues in Charlotte 49ers’ spring showcase

Saturday’s “spring showcase” marked the 15th and final practice for first-year head football coach Tim Albin and the Charlotte 49ers, forgoing a traditional spring game and opening Richardson Stadium to fans for the final practice until training camp picks up in late July.

With the Duke’s Mayo Classic against Appalachian State at Bank of America Stadium roughly four months away, Charlotte is ramping up for one of the toughest schedules the young program has seen. And Albin is pleased with the progress.

“Great day. Great crowd. Our most difficult day — that was the most reps we had on the hottest day. We got sloppy on some things, but it was a good benchmark on where we are at as a football team,” said Albin. “We’re looking for versatility, particularly on the offensive and defensive line positions. When you have a team that doesn’t return a lot of experience, in terms of playing time, we thought this was very important.”

With more than 60 snaps in 11-on-11 action, those in attendance got to see the new roster, including the newcomers at quarterback, take center stage.

Breaking down Charlotte 49ers’ quarterback play

The three-man competition for starting quarterback has continued throughout the spring session, with the transfer trio of Conner Harrell (UNC), Grayson Loftis (Duke) and Zach Wilcke (Northwest Mississippi) competing for the job.

Saturday’s showcase saw more of the same, with all three splitting reps with the first team, though Harrell did take the first snaps in the 11-on-11 period.

“We went equal reps at the quarterback position all spring,” said Albin. “I’m not sure how it’s going to shake out. We’re not ready to announce anything.”

Here’s how each quarterback performed in the limited live action, which features unofficial stats without yardage and no touchdowns or interceptions on the day.

Harrell: Joining Charlotte after three seasons in Chapel Hill, Harrell is among the team’s best athletes and can pull the ball down and run at any time. And Saturday showed he could also stand in the pocket and work through his progressions, completing six of his 10 attempts, which featured curls, screens and check downs.

Nearly all of Harrell’s attempts were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, outside of an overthrow to the corner of the end zone, where Mason was well-covered.

Loftis: After throwing for more than 1,000 yards in five games in 2023 for the Blue Devils, Loftis’ first action in front of the 49ers’ faithful started with the opening snaps of the team period and culminated in seven completions on 11 attempts.

Loftis missed two deep ball opportunities to E. Jai Mason and Miles Burris, with the latter running rampant against the Charlotte defense on the day. However, Loftis attacked the short to immediate parts of the field, specifically from the pocket.

Wilcke: While the quarterbacks rotated early and often, Loftis and Harrell looked to be in a 1A-1B role, while Wilcke worked with the second team. After starting his career at Southern Miss and transferring to Northwest Mississippi junior college last season, Wilcke made one of the best throws of the day — a deep out to Adam Hopkins IV on a third down — but was on the run much of the afternoon.

Wilcke completed five of his 10 attempts and wasn’t afraid to burn the ball if the play wasn’t there. The deep ball accuracy was on display, but Wilcke struggled with short-to-intermediate accuracy, throwing behind his targets on multiple occasions. Albin noted that Wilcke missed multiple practices with a high-ankle sprain, but showed no signs of struggled on Saturday.

Coach Tim Albin, staff must trim roster soon

Mason, a newcomer from Samford, and returnee Burris flashed on Saturday’s performance, both seeing four targets — tying for the team high. Burris’ ability to shed tacklers and rack up yards after the catch brought the crowd to life, and even impressed Albin.

“I thought they broke some tackles today. We got the ball out on the quick game, we slipped a couple tackles and were able to get some yards after contact, which is exciting,” Albin said. “Everyone loves playmakers. We’re always looking for them.”

With the spring period concluding, Charlotte now has to trim its roster down to 105 players from 120 — something that Albin has been long dreading.

“It’s a 36-hour thing here. Every college program in the country has to get down to 105 (players). I’m dreading the next 36 hours. As a staff, we’re going to have to make some tough decisions.”

Leaning on his staff, Albin believes that Charlotte is in good hands and is looking to bring a winning culture to a program that hasn’t qualified for a bowl game since 2019.

“I’m big on culture. Portal builds a team, but culture develops a program. We have an elite coaching staff, and support staff, and we’re all in alignment,” Albin said. “It’s an exciting time for Charlotte football. It really is.”