Biff Poggi optimistic about second season at Charlotte

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte 49ers coach Biff Poggi (white T-shirt) believes his second recruiting class will put the program in better position to contend for wins in the American Athletic Conference.

Charlotte football coach Biff Poggi is excited about who’ll take the field for the 49ers’ spring game.

“I think this year’s group has a totally different feel as far as the team nature of football,” Poggi said. “The locker room is a lot better this year. Last year we found that it wasn’t a good idea to get 20 to 22 guys to come in from the same high school. It is like we had two teams.”

When Poggi arrived in Charlotte in January 2023, the time for recruiting was all but over, so he was stuck crafting a roster with little time before spring practice began. This year he has had time to truly recruit, and not just recruit talent, but recruit kids with good character.

“We’ve got a recruiting department this year split into three areas,” Poggi started. “We’ve got it divided into three areas: high school, junior college and the [transfer] portal. So, we’ve been evaluating players for a whole year, and we feel really good about the kids that we’ve brought in and of course the kids we’ve been able to keep as well. This is just completely different this year. Last year I saw the tape of the team but didn’t truly know what we needed. This year I know exactly what we need and how to go about filling the spots we need.”

One of the needs Poggi filled quickly was at quarterback. Last year both Jalon Jones and Trexler Ivey split time with Jones the rushing threat and Ivey the passer.

This year, the 49ers will have one quarterback – Max Brown.

“[Brown] is an athlete,” Poggi said. “He is also a baseball player and was drafted by the White Sox organization. All you have to do is look at the film of the game he played against Florida State [last season]. He is an unbelievable player. He is very smart and is learning the offense really quickly. He has great leadership skills. He has just taken over. We didn’t really have a leader last year and he is the leader for sure.”

There are new faces in different places on the field, but Poggi is particularly impressed with the progression of one position group.

“The running back room has been greatly improved,” he said. “Cartevious Norton, he is really special. He has a low center of gravity and let me tell you, he doesn’t go down easy. But more importantly he is very experienced.”

The transfer portal gives and takes away. Among the departures are: Shadrick Byrd and Durell Robinson (RB); Demetrius Knight and Nikhai Hill-Green (LB); and Jack Hestera (WR).

“I am happy that kids can come and go as they choose,” Poggi said. “I am happy that they can make money off of their name, image and likeness. I wish I could have done all of those things when I played. When I played, you’d end up in handcuffs if you got a nickel. It is hard though. Fans don’t know who your team is going to be. People say from year to year, but it is really portal to portal. Your team in the winter and spring may change once the summer portal opens.”

The now-Power Four conference programs are poaching Group of Five teams like Charlotte, who can’t compete with NIL offers to student-athletes.

“Demetrius Knight is a great example,” Poggi said. “He played 41 plays at Georgia Tech. We took a chance on him. We coached him up and gave him an opportunity. He goes out there and becomes first team all-[AAC]. South Carolina came in and offered him good money. We can’t compete with that. I wouldn’t want to compete with numbers like that.”

Using marriage as an analogy, Poggi described the type of players he wants on campus.

“What we are looking for is tough kids that want to be here,” he said. “It is a little like being married. Some may say they want to marry the prettiest girl in the whole state. If she doesn’t want to be married to you, it’s going to be a tough road. I want someone that wants to be with me just like I want players that want to play here for me. You have to get players that want to be here.”

Despite the debacle that is the transfer portal, Poggi feels he has a good group of kids that can win a lot of football games. But the first game on the schedule is the annual Spring game on April 20 and fans can come free of charge to get a glimpse of what the 49ers will look like in the 2024 season.

“We are going to do the spring game differently than what we did last year,” Poggi said. “We aren’t going to draft players. The reason we aren’t going to do that is because we want the kids to be able to play with who they will be playing with in the fall. So, we want the offensive units to play as well as the defensive units. So, it will be like ones versus twos and kind of like that.”

Last year’s team motto was “Bad Company.” Poggi isn’t set on what this year’s motto or mantra will be, nor has started thinking about it.

“I haven’t figured it out yet, but I would start with good kids,” he said. “We’ve got a great group of good kids.”

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