University of North Carolina - Charlotte Athletics issued the following announcement on Aug. 5.
Head coach Will Healy welcomed the 2021 Charlotte 49ers football team to the field for day one of preseason practice.
"So much fun to be out here," Healy said. "The last time that this football team got on a practice field with something meaningful going on, we got an opportunity ripped away from us -- and ended our season when we expected to go play Marshall. I don't take these days for granted. I really don't.
Now, the 49ers are eyeing their Sept. 3 home opener with Duke. Day one is in the bag but there's plenty of work to be done between now and then.
"We're moving at a different speed," Healy added. "We didn't execute very well, really in any of the three phases. That's probably what you expect on day one. I'm not frustrated. My question will be 'what will their response be coming out tomorrow?'"
WHAT'S BACK:
Charlotte returns 13 starters, including one of Conference USA's top QB-WR combos in seniors Chris Reynolds and Victor Tucker, who rank second all-time for the 49ers in passing and receiving yards, respectively. 2020 leading tackler Tyler Murray is back to anchor the defense at linebacker while defensive end Markees Watts, who put up 13.5 TFL in 2019, is back to full strength after battling injury in 2020.
Three offensive linemen return to protect the offensive attack: D'Mitri Emmanuel, Ashton Gist and Hunter Kelly, who will move into the role at center. Reynolds also has wideout Cam Dollar and tight ends Taylor Thompson and Ryan Carriere returning as targets.
Defensively, defensive tackle Bryan Wallace, linebacker Luke Martin and defensive backs Antone Williams and Lance McMillan are back after enjoying starting roles in 2020.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT:
Between proven playmakers and a slew of newcomers poised for immediate impacts, Healy has a team that looks much different than a year ago.
On offense, those newcomers include several key power five transfers, like Texas A&M QB James Foster, Iowa RB Shadrick Byrd, Florida lineman T.J. Moore and Arkansas lineman Chibueze Nwanna. Defensively, some of the new firepower includes three key transfers in the secondary: safety Jon Alexander from Kansas State, ECU safety Tank Robinson and Purdue cornerback Geo Howard. Former Notre Dame defensive end Kofi Wardlow, Iowa State tackle Joshua Bailey, and Troy linebacker Justin Whisenhunt give Charlotte additional experienced weapons on the defensive side of the ball.
"It's day one," Healy said of the newcomers. "They don't understand our offense or our defense extremely well. You want to give them time to be able to play faster and more physical. As they become more comfortable they will. I've been impressed with how they've worked. They've been great culture fits. Obviously we upgraded from a talent perspective and we're expecting a lot of those guys to play. They look good in pads, I know that much."
DAY ONE EFFORT:
"Typically we don't have problems with effort. It was sloppy from an execution standpoint, but I'm proud of their effort. We've got to clean up the execution part. We should be a lot better day two than we were day one. The first week and half really is the grind portion. You can be in as good a shape as you want but when you come out and you're physically pushing on someone and running full speed and there's a different anxiety and a different adrenaline, it's going to be a different kind of shape. I feel really good about our football team."
Original source can be found here.
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