Charlotte Football hired Biff Poggi this offseason.
There were several unique hires in college football this off-season. From Colorado bringing in Coach Prime to UAB hiring Trent Dilfer, there was no shortage of out-of-the-box hires. Perhaps no hire was more unconventional than Charlotte football hiring Biff Poggi to become its new head coach.
Francis Xavier “Biff” Poggi is familiar with unconventional. Poggi took an unconventional route to coaching college football. Poggi always wanted to coach, but when he got married, his father-in-law wanted to ensure his new son-in-law could provide for his family. As a result, Poggi went to work managing a hedge fund for his father-in-law.
Poggi spent 30 years at the Gillman school as an assistant and then as head coach. He had two stints at Michigan (2016 and 2021) before getting the head coaching job at Charlotte. Now, he takes over a program headed to a new conference.
Moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference is more than a notion. However, they don’t have to deal with Cincinnati or Houston this season.
2023 is the ninth season of Charlotte football at the FBS level. It’s a young program, but it is in a city rich with talented football players. Can Poggi and his staff tap into that talent pool?
Here’s a look at the offense, defense, and the schedule.
Can the Charlotte football offense come together and be productive?
With just three players from last season’s team returning, it seems futile to talk about what the 49ers did last year. Everything is new in Charlotte. The 49ers have a new offensive coordinator, Mike Miller, from Maryland. He was a crucial piece in the Terrapins’ passing attack in 2022. Now he’s running an entire offense.
The relationship between Miller and Poggi should be interesting. Poggi worked under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, while Miller worked under Mike Locksley at Maryland. Can the offense be both physical and spread at the same time?
No matter what the system looks like, Poggi and Miller know everything starts in the trenches. The offensive line has been completely retooled. The staff brought in a lot of linemen with experience. Six linemen they brought were either redshirt juniors, seniors, or grad transfers.
Chris Reynolds, last season’s starting quarterback, is done. Either Jackson State transfer Jalon Jones or Penn State transfer Micah Bowens looks to be the likeliest options to start at quarterback. There are all new faces in the receiver room. Running back Shadrick Byrd is the only returning player with at least 20 receptions.
The offense should be interesting. It needs to be good because the defense was awful last year.
How good can Charlotte Football’s retooled defense be?
Much like the offense, the defense is full of transfers. That might not be bad for a defense that was among the worst in college football. Charlotte was 129th in scoring defense and 127th in total defense. Defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn has his work cut out for him.
The 49ers have four players returning on defense. Coach Osborn understands the importance of the trenches. One of the issues the 49ers had in 2022 was size. They did bring in some transfers with size. Jackson State transfer Katron Evans is a 320 interior lineman who gives the 49ers size either at defensive tackle or nose guard.
The linebackers might be completely new. Returning senior linebacker Prince Bemah is competing with several transfers to start this fall. The secondary was gutted as a result of the transfer portal. Wayne Jones and Neil Maguire are the only holdovers from the 2022 secondary.
If the 49ers want to compete defensively, they must limit big plays in the passing game. This rebuilt secondary has to limit explosive plays. Opposing quarterbacks completed 70 percent of their passes. Charlotte needs to pressure the quarterback, make more plays in the backfield, and cover deep better.
How many games will Charlotte football win?
Sept 2 South Carolina State W: Charlotte should win against MEAC powerhouse South Carolina State.
Sept 9 at Maryland L: The Terps want to move into the Big Ten East. Charlotte’s pass defense was terrible last year. Maryland wins going away.
Sept 16 Georgia State L: Biff Poggi’s first 50-50 game on the schedule. The Panthers lost five games by one possession and three of those five by three or fewer points. If they want to win this one, Charlotte has to stop the run game.
Sept 23 at Florida L: Unless Graham Mertz throws six interceptions, Florida should win comfortably.
Sept 30 at SMU L: This one could be a 50-50 game if SMU’s defense is as bad as last year. Both the Mustangs and the 49ers don’t play defense.
Oct 14 Navy W: The Midshipmen will be down again this fall so that Charlotte can win a close win here.
Oct 21 at East Carolina L: The Pirates retool their offense in 2023. East Carolina wins only because it is a home game.
Oct 27 Florida Atlantic L: Tom Herman signed Casey Thompson in the portal, and the Owls should be pretty good. Charlotte struggles to stop Herman’s offense.
Nov 4 at Tulsa W: The Golden Hurricanes are down this year, allowing Charlotte to pick up a win.
Nov 11 Memphis L: The Tigers should contend in the AAC and roll in this game.
Nov 18 Rice L: If JT Daniels plays, Rice wins. If JT Daniels is hurt, Charlotte wins.
Nov 25 at USF W: The Bulls are rebuilding with former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh. It’s another 50-50 game, but the 49ers squeak a win.
Prediction: 4-8 (3-5 AAC)
The non-conference schedule does the 49ers no favors. Charlotte plays Florida and Maryland before they begin conference play. Poggi is going to have this team believing and playing hard. Six wins are not entirely out of the question if these transfers come together and play well.