There’s a new regime taking center stage at Jerry Richardson Stadium this fall, faced with the toughest schedule the Charlotte 49ers’ program has seen in its 13-year history.
With just more than five months until the season-opening game against in-state foe Appalachian State in the Duke’s Mayo Classic, first-year head coach Tim Albin and the 49ers are ramping up for the first of 15 spring practices, concluding with the program’s spring showcase on April 19.
Joining Charlotte from Ohio as the program’s fourth head coach following three consecutive 10-win seasons in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and two MAC coach of the year awards, Albin has rounded out his staff and is continuing to scour the portal to bolster the first iteration of his roster in the Queen City.
Aug 31, 2024; Syracuse, New York, USA; Ohio Bobcats head coach Tim Albin looks on during the first half against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
With spring ball kicking off Tuesday, here are three burning questions ahead of a crucial spring session with a roster and staff chalked full of new faces.
What are Tim Albin’s philosophies?
Albin has repeated that Charlotte aims to end every offensive possession with a kick. While ideally an extra point, Albin is content with settling for a field goal and even punting the ball — if it means keeping the turnover margin down.
“Offensively, we’ve got to end every series with a kick. We’d like them all to be extra points, but we’ll take the field goal. But we’ll also take a punt. Where I’m headed with that is the turnover margin,” Albin said. “Looking at some numbers over the last four years here, the turnover margin has been basically at the bottom.”
Last season, Charlotte’s turnover margin was -9, ranking 119th out of 133 FBS teams — and that 49ers’ team went 5-7.
In today’s age of football, teams are keeping their offense on the field on fourth down more than ever. With more and more coaches trusting the analytics, Albin trusts his defense.
“There’s analytics, and there are guys on the sidelines with books — I get all that. But to go for it on fourth down, how’s your defense playing? If you’re making the opponent’s offense one-dimensional, let’s go for it,” Albin said on the Highway 49 Podcast. “I don’t go by the book. As far as Tim Albin, I’m going to play it by ear, be smart about it, and take in all the factors.”
And while schemes and game plans have evolved over the years, one thing remains the same — if you can run the ball, you can dictate the flow of any game. And for Albin, it’s all about establishing the run offensively and limiting it on defense.
“One thing that is non-negotiable is you’ve got to be able to establish a running game in the second half. That’s the most important thing to me. What are the rush yards that you’re getting as a team, and what are the rushing yards that you’re giving up in the second half,” Albin said. “We’re going to build this thing inside out — offensive line and defensive line. We need a solid quarterback. The more you can run the ball, the easier it is to play quarterback. We can help the quarterback position by establishing an identity (on the ground).”
Who’s the quarterback?
With Max Brown (West Virginia) and DeShawn Purdie (Wake Forest) exiting via the portal following coach Biff Poggi’s firing and Trexler Ivey calling it a career, Charlotte will be opening with a new quarterback for the third time in as many years.
Known as an offensive mind, Albin spoke about the signal-caller position at his introductory press conference.
“We want a really good, talented quarterback that can create with his feet,” Albin said. “He’s got to be able to move out of the way sometimes, and you’ve got to have some designed things in the run game.”
Albin added a trio of newcomers to battle for the most important position on the field, with Duke transfer Grayson Loftis, North Carolina transfer Conner Harrell, and Northwest Mississippi transfer Zack Wilcke competing for the starting job.
Wilcke was the first QB to commit to Albin at Charlotte, returning to the FBS ranks after spending a season at the junior college level. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound quarterback started his career at Southern Mississippi, where he started eight games as true freshman and posted five wins in those starts, throwing for 1,163 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Loftis (6-3, 215 pounds) appeared in eight games for the Blue Devils in 2023 under Mike Elko, starting the final five with Riley Leonard sidelined with injury. Loftis threw for 1,006 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions while leading Duke to a 3-2 record to close the season. After Elko returned to Texas A&M and Manny Diaz took charge in Durham in 2024, Texas transfer Maalik Murphy was brought in and took over the starting job. Loftis appeared in two games in 2024 as the third-string quarterback, not throwing a single pass, before hitting the portal and committing to Albin as a redshirt sophomore.
Just eight miles from Durham was Harrell (6-2, 210 pounds), who spent two seasons under Mack Brown at North Carolina. Harrell backed up Drake Maye in 2023 and played just one complete game in 2024 — a 37-20 victory against Charlotte, in which he accounted for three touchdowns. Harrell fell back down the depth chart in his final year in Chapel Hill, deciding to transfer before Bill Belichick was announced as head coach.
All three transfers will split reps equally throughout the spring, hoping a clear-cut starter will emerge.
What will the defense look like?
Led by defensive coordinator Nate Faanes and co-defensive coordinator Kurt Mattix, Charlotte’s defense returns multiple key contributors from 2024 and will operate out of the 4-2-5, similar to last season under former defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn.
“We’re going to base out of the 4-2-5. I’ll say this: the talent and the skill set on the Charlotte roster — what we did in Ohio over the last three years — fits the personnel really, really well. I’ve conveyed that to the guys on the defense, and I’m really excited about the fit,” Albin said on the Highway 49 Podcast. “There are some similarities that they ran on the previous staff in the secondary — whether it’s coverages, how they read things, and even how they call some things. I think that’s going to mesh very well.”
Charlotte 49ers defensive lineman Colin Coates celebrates his recovery of a James Madison University fumble during action on Saturday, August 31, 2024 at Jerry Richardson Stadium. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
While the offense will be nearly brand new, Charlotte does return a handful of defensive starters, including leading tackler LB Reid Williford, three safeties with starting experience in Al-Ma’hi Ali, Treyveon McGee and Ja’Qurious Conley, as well as defensive linemen Dre Martin, Colin Coates and Donovan Spellman. And defensive tackle Jalar Holley, who joined the program in 2021 under Will Healy, is awaiting an NCAA ruling on a final year of eligibility. Holley, however, is not listed on the spring roster.
One of Charlotte’s biggest defensive issues in 2024 was the lack of a pass rush, which Albin is looking to fix immediately.
“We’re going to have a package for first and second down. Everybody in the American wants to stop the run and make (opponents) one-dimensional. That’s hard to do — that’s going to take recruiting and really good players. That’s our mindset,” said Albin. “We want to get (opponents) to third down. We’ll get our pass rush guys out there and give the quarterback multiple looks. We want to get after that quarterback. I know that’s philosophy, but we’ve been able to be very successful defensively the past three years (at Ohio), and that’s what we’re going to get done here at Charlotte.”