Injuries loom over Charlotte as 49ers prepare for opener

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

The Charlotte 49ers, who went 3-9 last year in coach Biff Poggi's first season, will be shorthanded for Saturday's season opener against James Madison.

Injuries were the topic at hand for Charlotte football coach Biff Poggi’s first game week press conference of 2024.

“We have come out of (fall) camp pretty banged up,” he said. “We have definitely eight, maybe nine starters that are injured, which is getting close to 50% and I feel very bad for those kids. But I know that the young people that will get the opportunity to play will play hard. I take responsibility for that as a head football coach.”

Poggi didn’t identify the injured players. Also, the depth chart within game notes for Saturday’s season opener against James Madison doesn’t reflect injuries.

“I am not going to name their names, numbers or positions,” Poggi said. “I don’t think that is fair to them. When you guys write your stories you can crucify me for that.”

Prior to quarterback Max Brown and cornerback Dontae Balfour addressing the media, Poggi took both players out of the room for a quick, private meeting. Afterwards, both sounded optimistic about opening day.

“I feel like we know what is at hand,” Balfour said. “I feel like all I can do is encourage the young guys to step up and just do what we are supposed to do. Nothing spectacular, just following the game plan.”

Said Brown: “I think it comes to just being able to understand and handle adversity going through this season. You’re going to be able to experience multiple types of adversity, and how do we handle it as a team? It is kind of a big path of how or what your team is going to look like going forward in the season.”

One thing that is known is shorthanded Charlotte must prepare for James Madison. While the Dukes may have lost their head coach in the offseason, JMU hit the transfer portal as hard as any program in the country to bring in players who can compete in the Sun Belt Conference.

“(JMU) is one of the great programs in the country,” Poggi said. “They are really good and have a great program. One thing coach [Bob] Chesney said when he was hired, and I agree with him, he said, ‘I’m not here to rebuild or build. I am here to take it to the next level.’ He is an outstanding football coach that has won 111 games. Which, if my math is correct, is 108 more than I’ve won. And, he has been successful wherever he’s been.”

Chesney went 44-21 in five seasons at Holy Cross before moving to JMU.

With depth a challenge, Poggi said the game plan would have to change. Also, this is a time to lean on senior leadership as well as players with limited game experience.

“I think the honest answer is you kind of rein things in,” Poggi said. “You don’t go with the full game plan as you normally would. You have to lean on everybody. Everyone has to do a little extra now, and the key thing is staying together. No matter what happens early (in games), you’ve got to stick together because it is 60 minutes.”

JMU, which made the transition to FBS in 2022, is 19-5 in college football’s top division, including 11-2 last year. The Dukes are exceeding expectations, but accelerating Charlotte’s results looks a little different right now.

“I like this team and we’ll be competitive,” Poggi said. “We’ve got to win games. It comes down to you have to win games. The first step is winning the games you should win. You have to win a few that you probably shouldn’t win, and you have to try to get to that magic number six (for bowl eligibility). If you do that, then that is really an accelerant to your program. But the key is making progress from last year. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Anything built should be built to last, and that takes a lot of work and a lot of time.”

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