Heel Tough Blog: Charlotte Preview

Bailey Hillesheim- Getty Images

After a little luck helped the Tar Heels escape Minneapolis with a 19-17 season opening win, they are looking to kick off their home slate with a more dominant performance against a struggling in-state foe. Here’s everything you need to know about the program’s first-ever meeting with the Charlotte 49ers in Kenan Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Team Breakdowns

Tar Heels

For the first time in six years, the Tar Heels have legitimate uncertainty at the quarterback position. With Max Johnson done for the season, the job is now firmly in the hands of Conner Harrell, who came in and closed out the win against Minnesota but wasn’t that impressive while doing it. The hope is that with a week to prepare, the staff will have a better game plan and Harrell can return to the form that we saw from him in the bowl game. The good news for him is that Omarion Hampton is ready for another big season beside him. His 35 touches in the first game are the most in a regulation game so far in his career and the team will lean on him when needed. This game is part of a three-game stretch where the staff should be looking to rotate a little more in the backfield, meaning we should get a better look at Darwin Barlow and Davion Gause as they look to solve the backup running back battle. The receiving corps has a lot of pieces to like, but they have to be better than they were a week ago. J.J. Jones looks primed to step into that top pass catcher role, but the team can’t afford for him to have the number of drops he had in Minneapolis. Nate McCollum was non-existent once again in the opener and Christian Hamilton wasn’t able to provide much either in his first career start. The hope is that this opens the door for more snaps for the other guys in this room, led by Kobe Paysour if he is healthy enough to play more. The team also needs more from the tight ends, who were targeted just four times in the opener, including zero targets for John Copenhaver. If the game plan is more suited to settling a quarterback into the game than it was a week ago, that group should be more involved. The extremely young offensive line, who saw four guys make their first career start, was solid in the opener, shining in run blocking but struggling at times in pass protection. The interior of the unit is the strength with upperclassmen Willie Lampkin and Austin Blaske and true freshman Aidan Banfield, who will likely only better as the season progresses. The team needs Howard Sampson and Trevyon Green to use these three weeks to improve in pass protection and grow their confidence before they get into conference play.

Defensively, it’s all about continuing what happened a week ago in Geoff Collins's new, aggressive scheme. Just like a year ago, the team got a dominant performance on the defensive line, this time from Jahvaree Ritzie, who the team is hoping has finally arrived on the scene. The impact of transfer Joshua Harris was felt in the run game, especially in the second half when the front four started to fight back after being pushed around a bit in the second quarter. On the edge, Des Evans had a really impactful showing in the opener, as did Kaimon Rucker, the steady leader of this group who has improved as a run defender. The linebacker duo of Power Echols and Amare Campbell were very solid and will only get better when Campbell gets out of the club he has to wear on his broken right hand. The defensive back unit that was bragged about so much in fall camp has room to improve after last week. Corner Alijah Huzzie was fantastic, but the rest of the corners had their issues, including Marcus Allen, who had two pass interference penalties. At safety, there may need to be more rotation if Jakeen Harris and Stick Lane continue to miss tackles the way they did a week ago. As a whole, the defense needs to clean up their tackling after they missed fourteen in Week 1.

The Tar Heels special teams units were outstanding last week. Noah Burnette was automatic, connecting on all four of his field goals, including three from 40+, as he carried the team to victory. Punter Tom Maginness stepped up and silenced the haters by averaging 51.0 yards on his three punt attempts and had pretty good protection in front of him. Alijah Huzzie only returned one punt for 15 yards, but he took another return that was called back for 24 yards showing just how explosive he can be. Both coverage units had good nights, as well, after having their issues a year ago. The weakest part of the unit was kick returner where Nate McCollum is handling those responsibilities instead of Chris Culliver, who showed promise there in the bowl game, for some reason.

Charlotte

The 49ers went to the portal again this offseason in hopes of improving their offense under second year coach Biff Poggi, but their opener proved it isn’t going to be easy. Florida transfer Max Brown is the guy at quarterback, but he turned the ball over three times and only helped the offense find the endzone once. He needs to be better, as does the running game where the team is splitting carries between Terron Kellman, Cartevious Norton and Hashaun Wilson in hopes of finding a sustainable rushing attack. At wide receiver, it is a similar approach. Sean Brown is the guy who stood out in the opener, but the team is hoping guys like South Carolina transfer O’Mega Blake and former Tar Heel receiver Justin Olsen can become productive targets for Brown to throw to. Tight end Colin Weber looked good against James Madison and could be someone that the Niners rely on heavily on Saturday. The offensive line was redone in the offseason, as well, with three of the five starters transferring in. The unit was pretty solid in both aspects, but guard Jordan Spasojevic-Moko, who looked good in the opener, got banged up and will not play on Saturday.

The Niners defense had some moments of promise in Week 1, but big plays did the team in. Linebacker is the position of strength for them as both Prince Wallace-Bemah and new starter Reid Williford were productive in the opener. The edge rusher group has some interesting pieces, but the rotations were all over the place in the opener. The defensive line as a whole was pushed around in the run game and is something that the Tar Heels could exploit in this one. The secondary has some promising pieces, led by former Tar Heel corner Dontae Balfour, who was an all-conference player a year ago. The problem for Balfour and the rest of this secondary in the opener were the big plays that they allowed, which the Tar Heels are hoping to take advantage of this weekend as well. Another former Tar Heel, safety Ja’Qurious Conley, may get his first snaps in a Charlotte uniform in this game after missing last week’s opener with an unspecified injury.

The Niners boast one of the more dangerous kick returners in the Group of 5 in Henry Rutledge and he had another nice return in the opener. Punter Michael O’Shaughnessy transferred in from Michigan State and struggled in the opener while placekicker still appears to be an open competition with Kyle Cunanan getting the chance to prove himself first.

Team Stats

Tar Heels

Off. PPG: 19.0 (T-104th)

Off. PYPG: 105.0 (126th)

Off. RYPG: 147.0 (82nd)

Off. TYPG: 252.0 (116th)

Off. 3rd Down %: 50.0% (T-46th)

Off. 4th Down %: 0.0% (T-83rd)

Off. Red Zone TD%: 33.3% (T-107th)

Tackles For A Loss Allowed: 6 (T-80th)

Sacks Allowed: 2.0 (T-77th)

Def. PPG: 17.0 (T-72nd)

Def. PYPG: 165.0 (T-58th)

Def. RYPG: 79.0 (T-44th)

Def. TYPG: 244.0 (T-40th)

Def. 3rd Down %: 46.2% (T-105th)

Def. 4th Down %: N/A

Def. Red Zone TD%: 50.0% (T-47th)

Tackles for A Loss: 7.0 (T-48th)

Sacks: 5.0 (T-11th)

Interceptions: 0 (T-83rd)

Turnover Margin: 0 (T-58th)

Penalties Per Game: 3.0 (T-14th)

Penalty Yards Per Game: 45.0 (T-59th)

Charlotte

Off. PPG: 7.0 (T-121st)

Off. PYPG: 193.0 (88th)

Off. RYPG: 131.0 (90th)

Off. TYPG: 324.0 (98th)

Off. 3rd Down %: 36.8% (91st)

Off. 4th Down %: 40.0% (T-69th)

Off. Red Zone TD%: 0.0% (T-117th)

Tackles For A Loss Allowed: 6.0 (T-80th)

Sacks Allowed: 2.0 (T-77th)

Def. PPG: 30.0 (T-104th)

Def. PYPG: 219.0 (T-85th)

Def. RYPG: 194.0 (T-110th)

Def. TYPG: 413.0 (104th)

Def. 3rd Down %: 36.4% (T-76th)

Def. 4th Down %: 33.3% (T-41st)

Def. Red Zone TD%: 50.0% (T-47th)

Tackles for A Loss: 9.0 (T-25th)

Sacks: 2.0 (T-55th)

Interceptions: 1 (T-34th)

Turnover Margin: -1 (T-90th)

Penalties Per Game: 6.0 (T-65th)

Penalty Yards Per Game: 44.0 (T-55th)

Keys to the Game

Set Harrell Up for Success Early

One of the main reasons that the Tar Heels passing game struggled in the opener was because of the game plan from offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey. For some reason, the short passing game wasn’t utilized to try to help Max Johnson settle into the game with some easy completions. This week, there needs to be more of those layups early in the game to help Harrell gain some confidence.

Create Turnovers

Last week showed that turnovers could be an issue for Charlotte this season and the Tar Heel defense needs to be able to take advantage of that. Max Brown has shown that he will take risks, something that Max Brosmer didn’t do a week ago, so there could be a few more interceptable passes up for grabs this weekend. The defense created two fumbles in the opener and Charlotte coughed it up twice last week, so the Tar Heels need to remain aggressive on that front too.

Tackle Better

While we want the team to try to be opportunistic when it comes to creating turnovers, they need to be strategic about how aggressive they are after the struggles they had tackling a week ago. The team missed 14 tackles in the opener, a number that simply has to be improved in this game. If not, it could allow the Niners to hang around longer than they should.

Injury Report

Tar Heels

OUT- Darwin Barlow (undisclosed), Max Johnson (leg), Kaimon Rucker (undisclosed)

QUEST- Will Hardy (undisclosed)

ACTIVE- Caleb Hood (undisclosed)

Charlotte

OUT- Jordan Spasojevic-Moko (undisclosed)

QUEST- Mo Clipper Jr. (undisclosed), Ja’Qurious Conley (undisclosed), Jalar Holley (undisclosed), Aidan Kaler (undisclosed), Mordecai McDaniel (undisclosed), CJ Stokes (undisclosed), Duane Thomas Jr. (undisclosed), Ayo Tifase (undisclosed), PJ Wilkins (undisclosed)

Projected Starting Lineup

Tar Heels

Offense

QB#15 Conner Harrell, So.

RB#28 Omarion Hampton, Jr.

WR-X# 5 J.J. Jones, Gr.

WR-SL# 6 Nate McCollum, Sr.

WR-Z# 7 Christian Hamilton, RFr.

TE#81 John Copenhaver, Gr.

LT#79 Howard Sampson, So.

LG#68 Aidan Banfield, Fr.

C#58 Austin Blaske, Gr.

RG#53 Willie Lampkin, Sr.

RT#78 Trevyon Green, So.

Defense

DE#10 Des Evans, Sr.

NT#98 Kevin Hester Jr., Gr.

DT# 5 Jahvaree Ritzie, Sr.

RUSH#12 Beau Atkinson, So.

WLB#23 Power Echols, Sr.

MLB#17 Amare Campbell, So.

CB#28 Alijah Huzzie, Gr.

BS# 1 Stick Lane, Gr.

FS# 2 Jakeen Harris, Gr.

CB#29 Marcus Allen, Jr.

STAR#21 Kaleb Cost, So.

Special Teams

PK#98 Noah Burnette, Sr.

P#96 Tom Maginness, Jr.

KOS#37 Liam Boyd, So.

LS#62 Spencer Triplett, Gr.

H#96 Tom Maginness, Jr.

KR# 6 Nate McCollum, Sr.

PR#28 Alijah Huzzie, Gr.

Charlotte

Offense

QB#1 Max Brown, So.

RB# 0 Terron Kellman, So.

WR-X# 8 Sean Brown, Gr.

WR-SL# 4 Justin Olson, Gr.

WR-Z# 7 Terez Traynor, Sr.

TE#18 Colin Weber, Jr.

TE#81 Jake Clemons, Sr.

LT#79 Jordan Herman, So.

LG#56 Andrew Adair, Jr.

C#52 Jonny King, Jr.

RG#77 Mitchell Mayes, Sr.

RT#53 Kendall Stanley, So.

Defense

END#91 Dre Butler, Gr.

DT#23 Charlie Jackson, Sr.

DT#90 Dez Morgan, Sr.

RUSH# 7 Stone Handy, Sr.

LB#10 Osita Ekwonu, Sr.

LB#25 Prince Wallace-Bemah

LB#40 Reid Williford, Jr.

CB# 1 Dontae Balfour, Jr.

S# 0 Al-Ma’hi Ali, Jr.

S# 6 Ja’Qurious Conley, Jr.

CB#11 Elijah Culp, Jr.

Special Teams

PK#94 Kyle Cuanan, So.

P#96 Michael O’Shaughnessy, Gr.

KOS#99 Stephen Rusnak, Jr.

LS#54 Adam Booker

H#96 Michael O’Shaughnessy, Gr.

KR#21 Henry Rutledge, Jr.

PR#21 Henry Rutledge, Jr.

Game Information

Kickoff Time: 3:30 PM ET

Weather: 81℉, 15% chance of rain, S at 7 mph

Betting Line: -22 UNC, o/u47.5

TV: ACC Network

Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network