Charlotte 49ers signing day updates

Here's a list of the 49ers' Wednesday football signings so far. Check back for updates throughout the day.

James Williams, DB, 6-0, 175,  Golden West (Calif.) Junior College: Attended Golden West after playing high school ball in Carson, Calif.

Eugene German, OT, 6-5, 250, Martinsburg, W.Va.: Had an early offer from Marshall before committing to Charlotte.
Nick Carroll, DT, 6-5, 232, Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons: Originally committed to Old Dominion, but instead will attend Charlotte. Also recruited by several Southern Conference and Colonial Athletic Association teams. First-team all-Carolina 3A selection last season.

Martay Mattox, DB/WR, 6-1, 192, East Mississippi CC: Originally committed to South Carolina, left there after redshirting 2011 season. Was a top quarterback in high school in Athens, Ga., but will play either DB or WR at Charlotte.
 

Trent Bostick, WR, 6-1, 193, Richmond Senior: Might also be a slot back for 49ers, was also recruited by East Carolina, Elon and Appalachian State.
 

Blake Brewer, K, 6-1, 190, Concord Cannon School: Also had interest from North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia, Tennessee.

Chris Duffy, RB/ATH, 5-11, 190, Porter Ridge: Rushed for 132 yards and three TDs in state championship loss to New Bern, also had five tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception from linebacker spot.

Jordan Starnes, LB, 6-3, 225, South Stanly: Another Shrine Bowl player, reportedly also had interest from N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Appalachian State.

Nolan Corpening, DB, 5-10, 170, Vance: Accounted for more than 1,000 yards in total offense as rusher and receiver, had three interceptions on defense.
 

Jamar Winston, DE, 6-8, 240, Dutch Fork, S.C.: Played on state championship runner-up team this season for former Independence coach Tom Knotts.

Nick Halmon, DB, 6-0, 180, Bamberg-Erhardt (S.C.):  All-stater played December’s weekend’s North-South all-star game in Myrtle Beach.


Justin Bridges-Thompson, DB, 6-2, 195, Spartanburg: Also had interest from  Arizona, Hampton, Memphis, N.C. State, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest

Dustin Crouser, LB, 6-2, 220, Charleston, W.Va.: Missed second half of senior season with knee injury.

Devon Johnson, DE, 6-3, 275, Georgia Military College: Originally from Aiken, S.C., went to junior college first.

 

Tevin Lawshe, OT, 6-4, 275, Mallard Creek: Four-star recruit had several other offers, including East Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Elon.

 

Jachin Watkins, RB, 6-0, 215, New Bern: Scored four touchdowns against fellow 49ers commit Chris Duffy and Porter Ridge in state championship game.

Devin Pearson, DB/ATH, 5-10, 175, Rock Hill South Pointe: Helped Stallions to berth in state semifinals.

 

Kalif Phillips, RB, 5-10, 190, Kannapolis Brown: Averaged 155.6 yards rushing for Wonders this season, played in Shrine Bowl.

 

Wolfgang Zacherl, 6-4, 272, Raleigh Broughton: Chose Charlotte over Liberty, also had interest from Air Force, Appalachian State, Duke. 

 

Observations: Charlotte 49ers 66, UMass 65

Observations from Charlotte's 66-65 victory Saturday against UMass:

• Coach Alan Major cringed when Pierria Henry admitted to fouling Massachusetts' Chaz Williams on Henry's steal at the end of the game.

"I fouled him," said Henry. "But it ain't in the record books."

I don't blame Major, who might hear from the Atlantic 10 office on that. But it's refreshing to hear that kind of honesty from players.

• It's also hard to underestimate the importance of the win against a good UMass team while playing without DeMario Mayfield and Darion Clark. The schedule gets tougher over the next five games and, at 5-2 in the Atlantic 10 (17-4 overall), the 49ers need all the cushion they can get in their record as they head to Temple on Wednesday, play a home game Feb. 9 against Virginia Commonwealth then play road games against Saint Louis and No. 9 Butler before a home contest against Temple on Feb. 25.

• Mayfield served the first game of an indefinite suspension for violating athletics department policy. Center Chris Braswell also didn't start for disciplinary reasons. "A brief life lesson," said coach Alan Major. Braswell will likely be back in the starting lineup Wednesday at Temple. Clark (ankle) should be back for Temple.

• In addition to Henry's steal at the end of the game, the 49ers did a good job on Williams, especially in the first half when they limited him to five points and one assist. Williams' second field goal was a desperate, long 3-pointer - about 35 feet - as the shot clock expired.

• There was a good homecoming crowd and announced sellout of 9,105, Charlotte's largest of the season and largest since also drawing 9,105 against Xavier in 2010. The 49ers celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1987-88 team that won the Sun Belt championship and played in the NCAA tournament. It was Charlotte's first trip to the tournament since the 1977 team made it to the final four. Stars on that Jeff Mullins-coached team were Byron Dinkins, Dan Plondke and Cedric Ball.

• At least one player in the alumni game earlier at Halton was seen watching the 49ers and Minutemen while icing down a sore knee.

Homecoming moving to football, fall

It’s homecoming weekend at UNC Charlotte and it’s also the final time the festivities will take place around a men’s basketball game.

With football beginning later this year, homecoming will move to the fall. The first football homecoming will be the weekend of Oct. 12, when the 49ers host UNC Pembroke.

The men’s basketball program will continue to have its alumni gathering and old-timers game, as it is doing Saturday at 11:15 a.m. before the 49ers play Massachusetts at Halton Arena.

“We have Halton Arena and our locker room, our weight room, academic center and all of this because of the sweat those guys laid out,” said 49ers coach Alan Major, who also hosts a reunion dinner at his house every summer.

 Here’s a list of former players who are expected to play:

Joe Badgett, Dan Banister, Reggie Barnes, Byron Dinkins, Chris Dwiggins,  Tremaine Gardner, George Jackson, Brad Mulkey, Sean Phaler, Spencer Singleton, Bershuan Thompson, Irvin Williamson,

Attending but not playing:

 

 Ben Basinger, Robert Earl Blue, Jack Bolly, Todd Crowley, Norris Dae, Earl “Slim” Duncan, Cass Ferguson, Scott Fitzgibbons, Butch Gilbert, Travis Gordon, B. Stanley Graham, Ray Gromlowicz, Jeff Gruber, Richard Guffy, Gary Gummerson, Jon Heath, Jimmy James, Kevin King, Donnie Koonce, Lew Massey, Carroll Mizelle, Dan Plondke, Michael Pulley, Chad Setzer, Johnathan Shaw, Rod Stallings, Michael Stikeleather, David Taylor, T.J. Tison, Mike Washington, Roy Wells, Lee Whitfield, Johnathan Williams, Stephen Doughton, Matt Messina.       

Referee: Roderick Howard.

49ers pick up former Gamecock

The Charlotte 49ers football team has picked up an impressive transfer -- wide receiver/defensive back Martay Mattox of East Mississippi Community College. Mattox originally signed with South Carolina out of high school.

Mattox (6-2, 180) caught 43 passes for 583 yards and six touchdowns last season for East Mississippi.

Mattox was one of the top high school quarterbacks in the country in Athens, Ga., but South Carolina had plans for him as a defensive back when he signed with the Gamecocks in 2011. Mattox enrolled at USC in January 2011 and took part in spring practice.

He didn't play in 2011 and was redshirted before he left the program at the end of the season.

He's not expected to play quarterback at Charlotte, and will likely be either a receiver or defensive back.

QB Karsten Miller leaves school, will transfer

Quarterback Karsten Miller, one of the first players to verbally commit to Charlotte's new football program, has left school and plans to transfer, a source told the Observer.

Miller had been competing for the starting quarterback job with Matt Johnson, Lee McNeil and Kyle Hoffman during fall practice.

Miller, from North Davidson High, already had an offer from Charlotte in 2011 before he missed most of his senior season with a broken leg.  

Mayfield suspended indefinitely

Junior guard DeMario Mayfield, the Charlotte 49ers' leading scorer, has been suspended indefinitely for violating athletic department policy, athletics director Judy Rose and coach Alan Major said Wednesday.

It's the second time this season Mayfield has been suspended. He missed the first two games of the year, also for breaking team rules.

 

Mayfield will miss at least the next game for Charlotte (16-4, 4-2 Atlantic 10), Saturday at home against Massachusetts. That begins the most challenging stretch of the 49ers' Atlantic 10 season (followed by games at Temple, home against Virginia Commonwealth, at Saint Louis, at Butler and home against Temple). The 49ers are in a five-way tie for second in the A-10, but have lost two of their last three games.

 

“We are disappointed to make this announcement,” Rose said in a statement. “Our policies are in place for a reason and our student-athletes are expected to abide by them.”

 

Mayfield is averaging 11.7 points and 3.6 rebounds and had just been put into the starting lineup.

 

Mayfield, a transfer from Georgia, also was suspended for one game last season after being arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession, a charge that was later dropped.

 

“We are disappointed in the decisions that DeMario has made which has led to the suspension,” Major said in a statement. “We will stay the course and we will rally around each other.”

 

To start Mayfield, or not?

DeMario Mayfield has broken into the Charlotte 49ers' starting lineup. Now coach Alan Major needs to figure out if he wants to keep him there.

It's not a question of whether Mayfield, a versatile junior guard, should be playing. He's been the 49ers' most effective offensive player for much of the season and averages 26.4 minutes per game (second on the team to point guard Pierria Henry). But until he got his first start last week against Xavier, Mayfield had done what all excellent sixth men do: bring energy and an ability to change the course of the game that's already a few minutes old.

That wasn't a factor against Xavier, a close game all the way that Charlotte won 63-57. But the 49ers might have fared better in a 82-54 loss against George Washington had Mayfield been able to come in and potentially provide a spark, rather than be part of a sluggish Charlotte start that quickly dissolved into a blowout defeat.

With the 49ers (16-4, 4-2) off all week before playing a home game Saturday against Massachusetts, Major said he'll keep thinking about whether Mayfield is more valuable as a starter or sixth man. Mayfield is now Charlotte's leading scorer at 11.7 points per game(14.3 in league play).

"It's tricky," said Major. "Sometimes you don’t want a guy feeling that if he starts the game that he's got to do it right away. It can be a little easier coming off the bench, when you know exactly what you’re going to do. Either way it's a positive and a good problem to have. We have to manage it the right way.

"We'll take a look at that and see if it warrants keeping him in there."

A factor in Major's decision is whom Mayfield is starting for. Freshman Denzel Ingram has been inconsistent (he started alongside Mayfield and Henry in the backcourt against Xavier and had 12 points, but was scoreless off the bench against GW). Sophomore Terrence Williams (benched against Xavier but back in the starting lineup against GW) continues to struggle with his shot (31.5 percent).

49ers notes

-- Forward Jennifer Hailey is the Atlantic 10's women's basketball player of the week. She's averaging 15.5 points (fourth in the A-10) and a league-leading 11.4 rebounds. Hailey is second on Charlotte's career blocks list (197); fourth in double-doubles (33), fourth in rebounds (930) and 13th in scoring (1,235)

-- The 49ers picked up a football commitment last week from defensive lineman Wolfgang Zacherl (6-4, 272 pounds) of Raleigh Broughton.

-- The 49ers started baseball practice on Saturday. Charlotte, which opens its season Feb. 15 against Delaware State in Hayes Stadium, will host the Atlantic 10 tournament in its final season in the league May 22-25.