Charlotte 49ers football stock report: Who’s up, who’s down heading into Week 3

Biff Poggi, former hedge-fund manager turned head football coach, understands the risks and rewards of playing the stock market.

Under his leadership the Charlotte 49ers bought stock in an SEC transfer at quarterback, added 44 Power Four transfers to the roster and has a second-year staff with notable big-name additions.

But on the other hand, the 49ers had to replace the top three tacklers on the defense and all but one starter on the offensive line.

Now throw a true freshman quarterback into the mix, alongside double-digit starters sidelined with injuries.

Are you still adding the Charlotte 49ers to your portfolio?

Poggi is, and he’s all in.

“We’re trending in the right direction. But that doesn’t mean anything,” Poggi told the media on Tuesday. “What it means, is you play like you practice. Sunday was a good day, today was a good day. We’ve got to put it together on Saturday.”

Two games in, the 49ers have no true identity and are giving up nearly three times as many points as they’re scoring, but may have found life on offense and have an opportunity to get back on track against Gardner-Webb on Saturday night at Richardson Stadium.

Here’s a preview as Charlotte prepares for its lone FCS opponent on the schedule.

Stock up: DeShawn Purdie and passing attack

While just one game against a secondary known to give up the big play, Charlotte’s offense looked formidable against the North Carolina Tar Heels Saturday in Chapel Hill — especially the passing attack.

In his collegiate debut, true freshman DeShawn Purdie showed glimpses of promise in the second half of Charlotte’s second-consecutive loss. Replacing Florida transfer Max Brown with just over six minutes to play in the second quarter, Purdie looked the part in his first in-game action. After halftime, Purdie engineered an eight-play, 75-yard drive completing four of his six passes, including a 5-yard touchdown strike to tight end Bryce Kennon to make it a one-score game against the Heels.

His performance wasn’t without freshman blunders, though. Following the scoring drive, Purdie would miss on six of his next seven passes, allowing the game to slip away.

While meaningless on the scoreboard, trailing 38-13, Purdie utilized every rep, completing four of his final five passes of the evening, connecting on a 42-yard deep shot to South Carolina transfer O’Mega Blake and concluding the scoring with a 28-yard catch-and-run to Henry Rutledge.

Four of Charlotte’s nine explosive plays came with Purdie at the helm, and continuing to push the ball downfield plays to the Baltimore native’s strengths. Known for his arm strength, able to throw 85 yards with a three-step drop, expect Charlotte to continue hunting the deep ball and calling Jairus Mack’s number.

Stock down: Health and availability

The best ability is availability, and Charlotte’s running low at multiple key positions.

Quarterback Max Brown is “week-to-week” dealing with an injury to his throwing hand, and was unable to grip the ball on the sideline following the injury. After playing just eight snaps, Stone Handy missed the entire second half with a foot injury, and his availability moving forward is still up in the air.

Starting tailback Terron Kellman is out against Gardner-Webb, per Poggi, and wideout Justin Olson is out with a right ankle injury. Cornerback Dontae Balfour finished Saturday’s contest with a club on his left hand but was at practice Tuesday and expects to play against the Runnin’ Bulldogs on Saturday. With conference play looming and Charlotte’s injury report approaching CVS receipt length, the 49ers need to get healthy — and fast.

Stock down: Cartevious Norton and run blocking

Following two solid seasons with Iowa State in the Big 12, tailback Cartevious Norton’s first two games as a 49er have been less than ideal. Coined as the “lead back” by Poggi when Norton signed, the junior is averaging just 1.3 yards per carry with a long of four yards through two games.

With Kellman sidelined against North Carolina, offensive coordinator Mike Miller turned to Hahsaun Wilson, who was just awarded a scholarship this season, and Michigan transfer CJ Stokes, who had barely practiced through the pre-season. Despite playing the most snaps of any running back with 19, Norton saw just two carries and no targets in the passing game.

Although Norton has struggled out of the gates, he’s not alone. Charlotte’s offensive line has struggled to open holes for the backs through two games, averaging 3.1 yards per carry. Kellman leads the team with 84 rushing yards at 6 yards per clip, with Wilson close behind at 64 yards and 4.9 per carry.

The 49ers’ rushing game has yet to score this season, but Poggi says Charlotte will open the playbook and get creative to simulate the running game — tailback screens, tight end screens, run-pass-options, etc. — to take the pressure off of Purdie and stay ahead of the chains.

Stock down: Third downs

Although slightly better than a season ago, third down has still been an issue for Charlotte’s offense, converting 27% of their attempts. That’s good for 121st in the nation, just a handful of spots ahead of where they finished in Miller’s first year calling the plays.

Falling behind the sticks has been a recurring theme, due to the lack of a consistent rushing attack, and Charlotte countered that against North Carolina with an aggressive mindset on early downs. The 49ers averaged 9.3 yards on first down against the Tar Heels, gaining 215 of their 358 total yards with a fresh set of downs. Third down, on the other hand, Charlotte mustered just 3.3 yards per play.

It’s not just the offense that’s struggling on third down - it’s both sides of the ball. Charlotte’s defense is allowing conversions 45.5% of third down attempts, ranking 114th in the nation — in the same bottom tier as the offense.

Holding steady: Quarterback’s best friend

Charlotte’s tight ends are its safest bets. Returning the entire position group from a season ago, Kennon and Colin Weber have established themselves as sure-handed targets with the ability to rack up yards after the catch.

Weber reeled in three passes for 35 yards against North Carolina, including a tight end screen where he scampered 30 yards to put the 49ers in field goal position in the first half. Continuing his reliability from a season ago, when Weber led the 49ers in receptions with 34, the redshirt junior leads Charlotte with nine catches for 80 yards.