Charlotte football embraces challenge after 49ers picked 13th in AAC preseason poll

Coaches in the American Athletic Conference aren’t bullish on the Charlotte 49ers, but the team is confident.

Entering its second year under head coach Biff Poggi , Charlotte has been picked to finish 13th of 14 teams in this year’s AAC preseason media poll, the conference announced Tuesday at the Loews Arlington Hotel. Memphis, which received 23 of a possible 30 first-place votes, is the favorite to win the AAC.

Quarterback Max Brown , a transfer from Florida, defensive back Dontae Balfour and associate head coach Tim Brewster traveled to Texas and represented Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday.

It was announced less than a week ago that Poggi would not be able to attend AAC media days because of a personal family matter. AAC Commissioner Tim Pernetti acknowledged Poggi’s absence several times Tuesday.

Brewster eventually noted that Poggi’s sister-in-law passed away — just weeks following the death of former Charlotte defensive back Isaiah Hazel .

“(Poggi) is dealing with a family matter,” Pernetti said as he introduced Brewster. “He reached out to me last week to let me know that he wasn’t able to be here. Naturally, we encouraged him to be with his family — that always comes first.

“Certainly, it’s been a challenging stretch for the Charlotte football family,” the commissioner continued. “We also want to acknowledge the untimely passing of Isaiah Hazel just three weeks ago. We are sending our strength and our positive vibes out to the entire 49er family.”

Brewster didn’t appear to be reading a speech off a sheet of paper.

A longtime assistant coach of tight ends and receivers in both the NFL and college, Brewster delivered an impassioned speech at the podium. He pointed out conference and school officials in the crowd, lauded Poggi’s impact on the program and touted the 49ers’ new players.

“One of the hardest things that you’ll ever have happen to you as a coach is to lose a player,” Brewster said. “Lose a loved one. Lose a team member. We lost, in Isaiah Hazel , a tremendous young man. A leader of the team, amazingly loved.

“That weighed extremely heavily on Coach Poggi. He also had a sister-in-law pass away. And so he asked me if I would come to Dallas and represent him and our Charlotte football program. And as I stand before you, I couldn’t be more proud to represent a man like Poggi and a program that is new, that is young, that is aspiring to grow into a great program.”

‘It’s time for a team in Charlotte to be a winner’

Brewster promoted Charlotte as “one of the greatest cities in America” and touted the school’s innovation.

Not only is the home of the 49ers in a city with the business opportunities that Charlotte presents, but it’s on a campus featuring a stadium that’s expanding and now has Olympians training at the United States Performance Center .

Formerly UNC’s recruiting coordinator for nearly a decade, Brewster spoke about recruiting strong talent throughout the state of North Carolina. He even said that when he coached in Chapel Hill 25 years ago, he always said that “with the right guy at the right time, Charlotte is going to be an amazing football job.”

“It’s time for a team in Charlotte to be a winner,” Brewster said to close an impassioned speech at AAC media day. “We need to have a winner in Charlotte. And I think we’re just the right team to do that.

“The people who ‘know it’ think we’re going to be last, or second-to-last, in the conference. I like it. I like the fact that people don’t think we’re going to be very good.”

The Dré Bly effect in Charlotte

When Dré Bly initially began recruiting Dontae Balfour to Chapel Hill , the two spoke on FaceTime every day.

Balfour quickly found himself chatting with Bly, a Super Bowl champion following the 1999 NFL season with the St. Louis Rams, all about life, football and everything in between. The two grew close, and Balfour decided to attend UNC over LSU and Auburn.

Now the defensive analyst for the green and gold , Bly rejoins Balfour as the top cornerback enters his second season in Charlotte.

“Bly has a lot of experience,” Balfour said. “He’s played a lot of ball. He’s a Super Bowl champion. Just a great person all around, a genuine dude. I’m just grateful to have him in my life, to have him at UNC and now having here at Charlotte.

“It’s my guy, man. I’m just ready to get the season kicked off.”

Charlotte has athletes — and Coach Prime is impressed

Before becoming the associate head coach and tight ends coach in Charlotte, Brewster spent the past two years at Jackson State and Colorado, respectively.

Brewster, who was UNC’s recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach from 1989 to 1997, accepted the job on Poggi’s staff late last year while alongside Deion Sanders in Boulder.

He recently had a conversation with Sanders, who was asking Brewster about his new players in Charlotte. They specifically spoke about Dontae Balfour , a cornerback who returns after setting school records on the defensive front last fall.

“When you match work ethic with ability, you have something special. And that’s what we’ve got here,” Brewster said. “A guy like Dontae (Balfour) . He’s got those levers that Coach Prime always talks about. Those long arms, great legs. Going to make plays on the ball.”

AAC announces deal with pioneer in AI-generated video content

Commissioner Tim Pernetti announced that the conference has entered a multi-year partnership with WSC Sports .

Considered a pioneer and industry leader in artificial intelligence-generated sports video content, WSC Sports will distribute video both in real time and postgame for every conference-sanctioned football, men’s and women’s basketball game.

“This gives us the same tools as the NBA, the NHL, NASCAR and the USGA,” Pernetti said. “It will deepen our connections with fans. It’ll unlock creative and revenue-generated opportunities.”