Skeleton crew 49ers prepare for trip to South Florida

MATT LACZKO | THE CHARLOTTE POST

The Charlotte 49ers will have to continue their season without quarterback Conner Harrell, who was injured in their 28-17 loss to Rice on Sept. 18. Grayson Loftis takes over at South Florida on Oct. 3

The Charlotte 49ers (1-3, 0-1 American) are fresh off a much-needed break.

Their reward is a trip to South Florida to take on the Bulls, who have beaten two top 25 teams so far this season. It is going to be what 49ers’ coach Tim Albin calls their toughest test yet. Gametime is Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. 

“They should be nationally ranked,” he said. “We have a couple teams in our league that should be ranked and it’s going to play itself out at some point in time. … They have talent. That quarterback [Byrum Brown] didn’t play against Charlotte last year and he's got a cannon for an arm. He is a big guy who is hard to bring down. He can create, and he gets out of the pocket. He can make some things happen. Obviously, the tempo in their offense is basically impossible to duplicate (in practice). … We did our best. Having some extra practices is going to help, but they've got a great scheme.”

Albin announced on the team’s weekly radio show on WFNZ that quarterback Conner Harrell would be out the remainder of the season with what he described as “a lower body injury.” Albin told media on Tuesday that running back Henry Rutledge would also miss the remainder of the season. 

“[The position] will be by committee,” Albin said. “I said at the American media day that it would probably be by committee this year, so you will probably see three or maybe even four at that position. It is just where we are. [Other than Rutledge] they have all practiced.”

As for the quarterback, Charlotte will turn to Grayson Loftis, who has seen his share of action behind Harrell. Loftis is 23-for-44 passing for 296 yards and a touchdown. He does have two interceptions and has been sacked six times. Albin knows Loftis and Harrell are different but feels confident in Loftis’ ability to run the offense.

“Does [Loftis] have the extra step that Conner has? Probably not,” Albin said, “but, according to GPS that we wear every day, he’s been clocked the fastest at over 20 miles per hour, straight line speed. But, I’m sure [offensive coordinator] Todd [Fitch] will have some things that we will do a little bit differently. You won’t see us in the I formation or under center running lead draw and lead pass.”
Even through the losses and the injuries, Albin applauded the team for sticking together and not wavering. 

“I tip my hat to our coaching staff,” he said. “They are putting a lot of pressure on themselves. I am trying to do my best to help them work through that. We are all competitors. Coaches take losses way worse than players, … so I find myself giving pep talks to coaches sometimes when they are frustrated. They are coaching their tails off and the guys are responding. I’ve said it before – our football team is not going to splinter.”

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