New head coach Biff Poggi and the Charlotte 49ers have a chip on their shoulder entering the 2023 season, but do they have enough 2024 NFL Draft talent to make a strong first impression on the American Athletic Conference? Let’s take a look.
Charlotte 49ers NFL Draft Prospects
The 49ers are quietly one of the most interesting Group of Five programs in the entire nation. They’re moving to the AAC this year and doing everything they can to ensure they hit the ground running.
Charlotte hired Poggi from playoff-caliber program Michigan as their head coach, and he helped usher in a massive wave of transfer additions. Well over half of Charlotte’s entire roster is comprised of new additions, and only seven total returning players are slated to start across both sides of the ball.
Some of this change was unavoidable. The 49ers lost their top offensive weapon in Grant DuBose, who was drafted in Round 7 of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. They also lost several other standouts to exhausted eligibility, including quarterback Chris Reynolds and Amir Siddiq.
Nonetheless, the 49ers met this change head on, and the roster looks completely new heading into an important season for the program. It’ll be fascinating to see how it all comes together, but the bottom line is: Don’t turn your back on Charlotte.
Jalon Jones, QB
Charlotte was very active in the transfer portal, and one of their most notable additions comes at quarterback. Jalon Jones most recently played at Bethune-Cookman, where he completed 188 of 321 passes for 2,275 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven picks in 2022. He also added 574 yards and five scores on the ground.
Jones can be volatile with his mechanics and decision-making, but he’s a capable runner with a surprisingly hefty arm and a compact, high-velocity release.
Shadrick Byrd, RB
Jones isn’t the only player to keep an eye on in Charlotte’s backfield. The 49ers also have running back Shadrick Byrd, a former transfer from Iowa who amassed 620 yards and four touchdowns on 149 carries in 2022, while adding 21 catches for 222 yards and an additional score to his total.
Byrd’s vision can improve in both phases, but he’s a fleet-footed accelerator at 5’10”, 210 pounds, with an intriguing blend of traits.
Dez Morgan, DT
On the interior, Charlotte has two very similar interior defensive line prospects in Dez Morgan and Jalar Holley — two of the few projected starters that aren’t 2023 transfer additions.
Of the two, Morgan — 6’3″, 305 pounds — is a bit more consistent in getting off the snap quickly. He’s also shown he can channel power from his solid initial burst and torque through blockers at the point of contact.
Jalar Holley, DT
Holley was slightly less productive than Morgan behind the line of scrimmage in 2022, but he has a similar profile as a sleeper 2024 NFL Draft prospect. At 6’3″, 308 pounds, Holley has a good mix of natural leverage and proportional length and has shown to use his lateral athleticism to work across-face as a stunter. Overarching consistency is an existing need for both of these players, but working with Poggi could help.
Julius Welschof, DL
Two Michigan defensive linemen followed Poggi to Charlotte this offseason: Eyabi Okie and Julius Welschof. Welschof hasn’t been overly productive in his career, and he’ll be a 27-year-old rookie, but his outrageous physical tools grant him alignment versatility.
Welschof is sure to earn the allure of NFL evaluators. At 6’6″, 265 pounds, the German native has a documented 10’5″ broad jump, 34.5″ vertical, and a 4.66 40-yard dash, along with absurd flexibility at his size.
Eyabi Okie, EDGE
Eyabi Okie has had a roller-coaster college football career. He started as a five-star recruit at Alabama and earned SEC Freshman All-American honors. But in 2019, he didn’t play. Then, he transferred to Houston and was soon dismissed from the Cougars’ program.
Okie’s path led him to UT Martin, where he resurrected his career and earned a fruitful opportunity at Michigan in 2022. Now at his fifth program, Okie has the explosiveness, power, and bend at 6’5″, 250 pounds to be a legitimate 2024 NFL Draft prospect.
Demon Clowney, EDGE
Okie isn’t the only highly touted recruit with NFL talent on Charlotte’s roster. The 49ers also added Ole Miss’ Demon Clowney through the transfer portal.
The 6’4″, 250-pound Clowney is the cousin of former first-overall pick Jadeveon Clowney and brings a similar brand of game-wrecking explosiveness to the fold. He’s flashed pass-rushing chops before — his chop-spin sack against Georgia Tech is one example — but a starting opportunity at Charlotte could help Clowney break out.
Nikhai Hill-Green, LB
Poggi’s experience as an offensive lineman gives him a particular leg up at developing trench talent, but linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green is another player who followed the head coach from Michigan to Charlotte.
Standing around 6’2″, 232 pounds, Hill-Green was a four-star recruit out of high school and racked up 50 tackles and two TFLs with his range in 2021. He missed all of 2022 due to injury but could re-emerge at Charlotte in 2023.
Wayne Jones, S
Wayne Jones is an intriguing potential PFA prospect in Charlotte’s secondary. He’ll be a 24-year-old rookie, but Jones’ age speaks to his experience and pedigree.
He originally came to Charlotte from Kansas State and was productive at the Big 12 level — especially as a redshirt freshman in 2019 when he put up 57 tackles and a half-TFL. At 6’0″, 205 pounds, Jones is better in support than he is in coverage, but he has the functional mobility to play two-high and handle rotations.
Al-Ma’hi Ali, S
Transferring to Charlotte from the Saint Francis Red Flash, Al-Ma’hi Ali gives the 49ers an infusion of talent in the secondary. The 5’11”, 180-pound DB is a bit undersized, but he compensates with a very proactive playmaking mentality.
Playing in just eight games in 2022, Ali registered 30 tackles, two TFLs, two interceptions, and seven pass breakups, and also proved his value on special teams with two blocked kicks.
Other Notable Names
- Randy Fields Jr., WR
- Jaden Bradley, WR
- Kevin Williams, OT
- Jonny King, OL
- Johnathan Bass, OL
- Ositadinma Ekwonu, LB
- Dontae Balfour, CB
- DeAndre Hollins, CB
- Dontez Fagan, CB
Charlotte 49ers Schedule
- Week 1
BYE - Week 2
Sept. 2: vs. South Carolina State Bulldogs - Week 3
Sept. 9: at Maryland Terrapins - Week 4
Sept. 16: vs. Georgia State Panthers - Week 5
Sept. 23: at Florida Gators - Week 6
Sept. 30: at SMU Mustangs - Week 7
BYE - Week 8
Oct. 14: vs. Navy Midshipmen - Week 9
Oct. 21: at East Carolina Pirates - Week 10
Oct. 27: vs. Florida Atlantic Owls - Week 11
Nov. 4: at Tulsa Golden Hurricane - Week 12
Nov. 11: vs. Memphis Tigers - Week 13
Nov. 18: vs. Rice Owls - Week 14
Nov. 25: at South Florida Bulls - Week 15
BYE
