Charlotte 49ers football: UNC transfer QB Harrell to start against former team

With a disappointing season-opener in the books, Tim Albin’s Charlotte 49ers are preparing for Saturday night’s home opening bout against Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

It is the first time North Carolina has traveled to Jerry Richardson Stadium and the second time these programs have met after matching up in Chapel Hill last season. Charlotte has added roughly 2,500 temporary bleachers, bringing the stadium’s capacity to 17,800 ahead of the program’s biggest football game on campus.

The cheapest ticket on Vivid Seats is $133, and Albin is looking forward to his first game as head coach at Richardson Stadium.

“Our fanbase is very, very passionate. Say what you want about play-calling, you can be as critical as you want. I’m in the arena and I’ll take it all on. That just tells me it’s a passionate fanbase,” Albin told the media on Tuesday. “We’re going to find the positives, correct the mistakes, and fix the things our opponent had zero to do with. I really can’t speak to the biggest game (in Charlotte’s history) — they’re all big, and we’re on to the next one.”

49ers’ quarterback play

After lopsided Week 1 losses for both programs, Charlotte (0-1) has a three-day rest advantage against North Carolina (0-1), which played two quarterbacks in the 48-14 loss on Monday night against TCU. Albin confirmed that UNC transfer quarterback Conner Harrell will be the starter again on Saturday night, this time against his old team.

“There were some good things in there. It’s difficult to play (quarterback) when your running game is not strong,” Albin said of Harrell. “There were some tough pockets, and he stood in there and threw the ball. It wasn’t perfect, but he showed grit.”

Harrell played all but three snaps in Friday night’s 34-11 loss to Appalachian State, being replaced by Grayson Loftis while dealing with a leg cramp late in the third quarter, but quickly returned.

In his fourth career start, first with the 49ers, Harrell was under pressure on 50% of his dropbacks, completing just three of his 11 attempts with the Mountaineers’ defense bearing down, including the ill-advised interception ahead of halftime.

Allowing constant pressure for much of the night and averaging just 2.6 yards per carry, Albin said the 49ers are experimenting with their starting offensive line. After playing seven guys up front against Appalachian State, with center Jonny King, guard Mo Clipper, and left tackle Jesse Ramil playing a team-high 60 snaps each, Charlotte will need to clean up the missed assignments and mental errors ahead of Saturday night’s matchup, which will be aired on ESPN+.

Staying ahead of the chains

Charlotte’s first play from scrimmage was indicative of its offensive performance against Appalachian State, with James Madison transfer Jesse Ramil committing a false start in his first snap with the program. Although penalized less than the Mountaineers, who committed nine penalties for 98 yards, the 49ers were flagged seven times for 54 yards, halting multiple drives before they started.

Charlotte totaled just 60 yards on 21 first-down snaps. That’s an average of 2.9 yards per play on first down, and resulted in an average third-down distance of 8.3 yards. With the 49ers behind the chains early and often, committing four of their seven penalties on first down, Charlotte was off schedule for much of the night.

And Albin knows his team won’t be competitive if that continues.

“Offensively, no rhythm. Through three quarters, we had nine series, and four or five of those we started with a penalty on the first play of the drive. I don’t think we overcame any (of the penalties),” said Albin. “When we’re off schedule, we struggle. We just couldn’t get in the flow.”

Carrying a mentality that the 49ers can’t beat themselves, Harrell said he must be better moving forward.

“We didn’t get a lot of explosive plays. As an offense, we didn’t execute as well. We were behind the chains a lot. It was less about Appalachian State and more about our offense executing. My performance — I have to be better,” said Harrell. “We beat ourselves, we feel like. We’re not worried about outside noise.”