The 2015 Charlotte 49ers football team represented the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (also called Charlotte or UNC Charlotte) in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the school's third overall season of NCAA football, their first season of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) play, and their first season as a member of Conference USA for football. The team was led by third-year head coach Brad Lambert and played its home games on campus at Jerry Richardson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. As part of their transition to FBS they were ineligible to participate in the College Football Playoff and bowl games, but could have qualified for the Conference USA Football Championship Game. They finished the season 2–10, 0–8 in C-USA play to finish in last place in the East Division.
Personnel Coaching staff Matt Wallerstedt joined the staff as defensive coordinator in January, replacing Bruce Tall, who left to become West Virginia's Defensive Line Coach. Phil Ratliff, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for the team's first two seasons, died unexpectedly before the season started on August 8, 2015. Former Carolina Panther, Kevin Donnalley, who had been part of the conditioning staff and radio broadcast team, took over Offensive Line coaching duties.
Name Position Seasons atCharlotte Alma mater Brad Lambert Head coach 3 Kansas State (1987) Jeff Mullen Offensive coordinator 3 Wittenberg (1990) Matt Wallerstedt Defensive coordinator 1 Kansas State (1988) James Adams Secondary 3 Wake Forest (2006) Aaron Curry Defensive line 2 Wake Forest (2008) Kevin Donnalley Offensive line 1 North Carolina (1991) Damien Gary Running backs 3 Georgia (2005) Johnson Richardson Tight ends 3 Wofford (2010) Napoleon Sykes Outside linebackers 3 Wake Forest (2006) Joe Tereshinski III Wide receivers 3 Georgia (2006)Reference:
Recruiting Recruiting class The following recruits and transfers have signed letters of intent to the Charlotte 49ers football program for the 2015 recruiting year.
Players Player gameday honors Wearing Jersey #49 Position Game Game Captains Flag Carriers Jamal Covington OT Georgia State Danny Book, Trent Bostick,Caleb Clayton-Molby, Branden Dozier TL Ford II, Nick Cook,Anthony Covington Danny Book∞ OT Presbyterian Richard Murphy, Kalif Phillips,Branden Dozier, James Middleton Austin Duke, Terrance Winchester,Blake Brewer Jarred Barr G Middle Tennessee Danny Book, Andrew Buie,Nick Cook, Devon Johnson Matt Johnson, Devin Pearson,Arthur Hart Eugene German OT Florida Atlantic Kalif Phillips, Jarred Barr,Nick Cook, Branden Dozier Richard Murphy, Larry Ogunjobi,Anthony Covington Zach Duncan LB Temple Richard Murphy, Kalif Phillips,Caleb Clayton-Molby, Larry Ogunjobi Jarred Barr, Terrance Winchester,Keaston Sinicki Tanner Fleming DL Old Dominion Nick Cook, Brandon Banks,Jamal Covington, Trent Bostick Richard Murphy, Tank Norman,Anthony Covington Richard Murphy H-back Southern Miss Kalif Phillips; Danny Book,Branden Dozier, Brandon Banks Casey Perry; Larry Ogunjobi,Keaston Sinicki Dylan Ratliff† – Marshall Larry Ogunjobi, Brandon Banks,Jarred Barr, Jamal Covington Richard Hudson° Nate Davis OL Florida International Jamal Covington, Danny Book,Daquan Lucas, Larry Ogunjobi Kyle Hoffman, Karrington King,Keaston Sinicki Kalif Phillips RB UT San Antonio Branden Dozier, Caleb Clayton-Molby,Danny Book, Richard Murphy Austin Duke, Brandon Banks,Anthony Covington Thomas La Bianca C Kentucky Danny Book, Andrew Buie,Brandon Banks, Larry Ogunjobi Richard Murphy, Caleb Clayton-Molby,R. J. Tyler Danny Book∞ OT Rice Austin Duke, Andrew Buie,Daquan Lucas, Caleb Clayton-Molby Casey Perry, Karrington King,Ardy HolmesReference: †--Son of late Charlotte Offensive Line Coach and former Marshall football standout Phil Ratliff. °--U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 8th congressional district and UNC Charlotte Alumnus. ∞--Danny Book became the first 49er to wear the #49 jersey twice in one season. Book would finish his collegiate career having started all 34 games in program history.
Team
Awards and honors
Conference USA Weekly AwardsPlayerAwardDate AwardedRef. Blake Brewer Special teams player of the week September 7, 2015
Individual AwardsPlayerAwardRef. Lee McNeill Conference USA Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year Lee McNeill Conference USA All-Academic Team
All-Conference USA TeamPlayerSelectionRef. Kalif Phillips Second Team (Offense) Larry Ogunjobi Second Team (Defense)
Depth chart
Schedule
Denotes the then largest crowd in Jerry Richardson Stadium history.
Television Local TV coverage continued with WCCB picking up all 6 of ASN's Charlotte 49ers broadcasts.
Radio Radio coverage for all games was broadcast by IMG College through the Charlotte 49ers Radio Network flagship station WFNZ 610 am The Fan. The radio announcers were Matt Swierad with play-by-play, former Carolina Panther Damione Lewis with color commentary, and Bobby Rosinski with sideline reports.
Preseason media poll Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 16, 2015, with the 49ers predicted to finish in last place in the East Division.
East Division 1 Western Kentucky 2 Marshall 3 Middle Tennessee 4 Florida Atlantic 5 FIU 6 Old Dominion 7 Charlotte
Game summaries Georgia State Panthers
Sources:
The 49ers accomplished several firsts with their 2015 opener. It was their first game as an FBS team, their first game against an FBS opponent, and their first game in an NFL stadium. It was also their first FBS level win.
On the opening drive for Georgia St. Nick Arbuckle completed a 4-yard pass to Glenn Smith, but Charlotte's Nick Cook forced him to fumble, which was recovered by the 49ers' Terrance Winchester and returned to the endzone for Charlotte's first points as an FBS program. On Charlotte's first official offense of the game, Blake Brewer capped the drive with a 45-yard field goal. Charlotte capped a 14 play drive late in the quarter on a Blake Brewer 35-yard field goal. The score moving into the second quarter was Charlotte 13, Georgia State 0.
Charlotte's first drive of the second quarter ended a 14-play drive on a Matt Johnson interception by the Panthers' Bobby Baker near the endzone. Midway through the quarter Georgia State got their first points off a Wil Lutz 29-yard field goal. On the next drive the 49ers stretched their lead on a Matt Johnson 63-yard pass to Austin Duke. The teams headed to the locker rooms with the score 49ers 20, Panthers 3.
The second half saw the Panthers tack on another Wil Lutz field goal from 50 yards out to cap their first possession. On the next possession Charlotte ended a 15-play drive off Blake Brewer's third successful field goal of the day, this time from 22 yards out. The third quarter ended with the 49ers on top 23 to 6.
The final quarter of action saw the Panthers end their first drive when Wil Lutz's 44-yard field goal attempt bounced off the crossbar. On their next drive the Panthers found the endzone for the first time on a Nick Arbuckle 24-yard pass to Taz Bateman. The teams swapped the ball for the rest of the quarter until the 30-second mark, when Nick Arbuckle found Penny Hart for a 53-yard touchdown to get within 3 points of tying the game. With no timeouts left, the Panthers made an on-side kick attempt but the ball rolled out of bounds. The Charlotte 49ers held on to win their first FBS game by the score of 23 to 20.
Coach Lambert presented the game ball to late offensive line coach Phil Ratliff's daughter Haley on the sidelines.
Top performers for the game were Georgia State quarterback Nick Arbuckle, who passed for 299 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Charlotte rusher Kaliff Phillips had 19 carries for 90 yards. Charlotte's Austin Duke had 7 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Game notes: First FBS game, and first FBS win. First game in an NFL venue, and first indoor game. First game in program history in the State of Georgia. Charlotte kicker Blake Brewer was named C-USA special teams player of the week.
Presbyterian Blue Hose
Sources:
The Blue Hose were looking to spoil the 49ers' home opener as an FBS level program, but Charlotte got their second victory of the year behind a superlative defensive effort.
Neither team made much headway scoring in the first quarter with Blake Brewer missing his first field goal of the season from 37 yards out with two minutes left in the quarter. On their next possession, after an interception, the 49ers found the endzone on a Matt Johnson 6-yard pass to Trent Bostick. The score at the end of the quarter was 49ers up 7 to 0.
The second quarter also started slowly for both teams, but midway through the quarter Blake Brewer split the uprights from 24 yards out to cap a 13-play drive. On Charlotte's next possession Kalif Phillips punched it into the endzone from 12 yards out. On the first play of their next drive Matt Johnson found Austin Duke for a 39-yard touchdown pass. The half ended with Charlotte up 24 to 0, holding the Blue Hose to 11 total offensive yards for the half.
On the 49ers first possession of the second half, Blake Brewer made a 35-yard field goal. Later in the half Brooks Barden connected for a 9-yard pass to Bradan Smith for both players' first points as 49ers. The third quarter ended with Charlotte up 34 to 0.
On a 13-play drive that started in the third quarter and finished in the fourth, the Blue Hose got their first points of the day off a Brett Norton 21-yard field goal. On Presbyterian's next drive, Darrell Bridges pushed it in from the 1-yard line to get the Blue Hose their only touchdown of the day. Charlotte kept the ball for the last 4 minutes of the game and win 34 to 10.
Top performers for the game were Charlotte quarterback Matt Johnson, who passed for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns. Presbyterian rusher Darrell Bridges had 22 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown. Charlotte's Austin Duke had 9 receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown.
Game notes: Presbyterian played CCUNC during the Owls' three years of existence in the late 1940s. Charlotte's defense set records for fewest yards allowed (112), fewest passing yards allowed (9) and most tackles for loss (19).
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
Sources:
The 49ers entered their first C-USA football game on the road, hoping to surprise the Blue Raiders. Instead, the 49ers got a heavy dose of FBS level reality as Middle Tennessee put together a six touchdown first quarter performance and never looked back.