Alan Barnwell, a running back from Burlington Cummings High, became the 49ers' 25th football signee today. Barnwell, 5-9, 165 pounds, was the Mid-State 2A player of the year, rushing for about 1,700 yards and 25 TDs as a senior.
The 49ers just received a letter-of-intent from offensive lineman Casey Perry, a Rivals.com 3-star recruit from Durham Hillside.
Perry, 6-3, 295 pounds, was considered about an inch short for FBS schools, according to a feature story about Perry in the (Raleigh) News & Observer last fall. He'd also been recruited heavily by Appalachian State and Western Carolina and had committed earlier to Gardner-Webb.
"It's huge," said 49ers recruiting coordinator Phil Ratliff of landing Perry. "It shows we can go against the established programs for these kids. It's hard to see how 1 inch makes much of a difference with a player like Casey."
The 49ers have signed 23 players as of 1:15 p.m. today, most recently adding Perry, Ayden-Grifton running back/defensive back Kariym Gent and West Montgomery quarterback Jaquil Capel. Capel had already committed verbally to Appalachian State.
Charlotte 49ers head football coach Brad Lambert arrived at his office in the Barnhardt Student Activities Center at 6:50 a.m. this morning, giving him a few minutes to prepare for the rush of activity that was coming his new program's way.
Ten minutes later, the fax machine rang and the first of the 49ers' new football signees -- Will Thomas, 6-0, 165-pound slot receiver from Topsail High in Hampstead -- was sending in his letter of intent. A few seconds later, Maiden quarterback Matt Johnson became the 49ers' second official player.
That's how it's been all morning, as 20 players have officially signed with the 49ers through 11 o'clock. Lambert and the rest of his staff have been huddling in a meeting room -- a wide-screen television tuned into ESPNU's coverage of national signing day on one wall. On the other is a board with each position listed, names posted as the LOIs come in.
It's a popular place to be in the athletic department. A steady stream of people come and go, helping the coaches kill time while waiting for more commitments to come through. Breakfast was served in the hallway. The coaching staff also gets ready to watch a highlight video of their new players that will be released tomorrow
Then, one coach walks out, toward the fax machine. Another player -- this time Lakeside, Ga., linebacker Kendal Parker -- is on the line. And the big board is updated.
UPDATED 1:30 pm
The letters-of-intent are coming in fast and furiously at the 49ers football office as Charlotte's first football class is assembled. Here are the 23 players who have faxed their LOIs through 10:30 this morning:
-- OL, Casey Perry, Durham Hillside, 6-3, 295
-- QB/ATH, Jaquil Capel, West Montgomery, 5-11, 175
-- RB/DB, Kariym Gent, Ayden-Grifton, 5-11, 186
-- DB, Greg Cunningham, West Charlotte, 6-2, 180
-- QB, Karsten Miller, Lexington, 6-3, 175
-- C, Jared Barr, Monroe Sun Valley, 6-3, 285
-- WR, Austin Duke, WR, Independence, 5-8, 160
-- LB, Rick Legrant, LB, Buford, Ga., 6-0, 205
-- DB, Tank Norman, DB, Richlands, 5-11, 180
-- OL, Mason Sledge, OL, Monroe, 6-4, 250
-- WR, Jamel Ross, WR, Cary, 6-2, 215
-- OT, Jamal Covington, OT, Hampton, Ga., 6-4, 220
-- DL, James Middleton, DL, St. Stephen, S.C., 6-4, 250
-- QB Matt Johnson, Maiden, 6-3, 210
-- ATH Justin Bolus, James Island, S.C., 6-3, 205
-- LB Terry Caldwell, Wilmington Hoggard, 6-0, 200
-- OL Thomas LaBianca, Porter Ridge, 6-3, 282
-- LB Mark Pettit, Western Guilford, 6-6, 235
-- ATH Will Thomas, Hampstead Topsail, 6-0, 165
-- ATH Jalen Holt, South Stanly, 6-3, 220
-- DE Brandon Banks, Southwest Guilford, 6-3, 245
-- DT Larry Ogunjobi, Jamestown Ragsdale, 6-2, 267
-- LB Kendal Parker, Lake Park, Ga., 6-1, 215
49ers news and notes as football signing day (Wednesday) nears:
-- Charlotte picked up four commitments on Monday, according to Rivals.com: WR Austin Duke (Independence); QB Austin Berrios (Raleigh Leesville Road), DL James Middleton (St. Stephen, S.C.) and QB Lee McNeill of Porter Ridge.
The 49ers also lost one: West Mecklenburg LB Tashion Singleton picked Appalachian State over the 49ers and S.C. State.
-- New 49ers men's soccer Kevin Langan has promoted Kyle Gookins to his lead assistant coach. Gookins has served under Langan and former coach Jeremy Gunn since 2009.
-- Season tickets in the lower bowl of Charlotte's Hayes Stadium are sold out for this coming baseball season (season begins Feb. 17 against St. Peter's). Also, College Baseball Insider just released its Atlantic 10 preview, with lots of love the 49ers (and assistant coach Brandon Hall).
Observations from Charlotte's 74-70 loss Saturday against Xavier:
-- The loss, the 49ers' fifth straight in the Atlantic 10, plunged Charlotte (10-10, 2-5) into the Atlantic 10's danger zone. They're tied for 12th with Fordham and just one game ahead of last place Rhode Island, which won its first league game Saturday with an upset at Dayton.
-- Freshman Terrence Williams started for a second straight game ahead of Derrio Green at shooting guard. Why? Defense. With point guard Pierria Henry still out with an injured knee, the 49ers backcourt is small and limited defensively (remember last season?) with Deuce Briscoe and Green back there. Williams, at 6-4, is longer than Green (6-2) and helped limit Xavier guards Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons to a combined eight-of-26 night.
-- Javarris Barnett's 27 points were a career high and he made seven of eight 3-pointers. The school record is 10 made 3s, by Brendan Plavich against Syracuse in 2003. But the 87.5 percent is a school record for a player who took at least eight 3s (Plavich made 7 of 9 (77.8 percent) twice -- against Louisiana-Lafayette and Davidson in 2004)
-- Don't be surprised to see Henry back either at La Salle or Fordham next week. Major said that, although Henry isn't practicing yet, he's been improving quickly.
-- Small forward DeMario Mayfield (13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal) had a good all-around game. How good? Mayfield, who entered the game a 44.0 percent free-throw shooter, made six-of-eight against Xavier. Musketeers coach Chris Mack said his team turned Mayfield "into Mark Price." Price is the NBA's career free-throw leader.
The short, suspension-filled career of Paige McCallum with the 49ers' women's basketball program ended Friday when she was dismissed from the team by coach Cara Consuegra.
"After much consideration, it is the decision of our coaching staff that Paige McCallum and our team part ways at this time," Consuegra said in a statement. "We want to thank Paige for her contributions to our program.We wish her the best in her future endeavours."
McCallum, a senior forward from Whiteville, has been suspended since the 49ers' seventh game of the season for undisclosed reasons. She was also suspended twice last season, including during the 49ers' run to the semifinals of the Women's NIT.
McCallum, whose sister Shannon is one of the program's all-time great players, averaged 5.0 points in 31 games in her two seasons with Charlotte after transferring from Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College.
McCallum will remain in school at Charlotte, where she is majoring in African Studies.
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