Charlotte 49ers – Syndication Server

Former Florida OL commits to one of Gators’ 2023 opponents

The Gators reserve OT is seeking greener pastures with the Charlotte 49ers.

Another former Florida football player found a new home through the NCAA transfer portal on Saturday when reserve offensive tackle [autotag]Jordan Herman[/autotag] committed to the Charlotte 49ers, per a post on his personal Twitter account.

The 6-foot-8-inch, 371-pound lineman declared his intent to enter the portal back in mid-November and nearly five weeks later he signed on with a new school.

Herman played in just one game during the 2023 campaign — the home opener against McNeese State, in which the Gators emerged victoriously, 49-7. Incidentally, he did not take the field against his now-new team for the Week 4 matchup in the Swamp.

The redshirt sophomore appeared against Eastern Washington in the 52-17 win as well as a 38-6 blowout against South Carolina in 2022.

“I want to thank Coach Napier and Coach Stapleton for giving a JUCO kid an opportunity of a lifetime and making my dreams come true,” Herman said in a tweet announcing his departure. “After talking with my family and the people closest to me, I will be entering my name in the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining.”

Pro Football Focus grades Herman decently as a pass blocker, but his small sample size (28 total snap counts) makes it difficult to take beyond a grain of salt.

Herman will have two more years of eligibility remaining to use with the 49ers. He joins Florida quarterback Max Brown in Charlotte.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Former Florida backup QB finds new home, transferring to Charlotte 49ers

Florida Gators backup quarterback announces his transfer to the Charlotte 49ers

The transfer portal for the 2024 season is nearly filled to the brim with members of the Florida Gators, and one player has already found a new home.

Former Florida backup quarterback [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] is committing to the Charlotte 49ers after spending one week in the portal. Brown made six total appearances for the Gators in 2023, but will be remembered for taking over the two weeks after starting QB Graham Mertz sustained an injury in his right collarbone while taking on Missouri.

Brown nearly helped the Gators pull a miracle comeback against Mizzou, but ended up falling short. Brown made his first career start against the Florida State Seminoles and almost led the Gators to a monumental upset win, but the offense didn’t really get rolling with Brown under center.

Brown posted his commitment to Charlotte on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a picture of him in full uniform while wielding a pick axe. The freshman transfer added a simple caption of, “Let’s work.”

Let’s work! @CharlotteFTBL pic.twitter.com/cLb5LzHp77

— Max Brown (@mmax_23) December 11, 2023

Brown completed 67% of his passes this season while collecting just 192 yards. He never completed a pass for a touchdown, but did end up throwing an interception against Florida State.

Charlotte will likely have at least four quarterbacks to choose from next season, with Brown becoming an additional option. It’s not clear if he’ll be given the keys to the kingdom, but a QB battle will surely ensue.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Which Gators finished Week 4 with the highest PFF ratings?

Week 4 is in the books and Pro Football Focus grades are out. Check out which Gators played the biggest roles in Saturday’s 22-7 win over Charlotte.

Florida’s 22-7 win over Charlotte on Saturday and plenty of heroes, but which Gators finished the night with the highest ratings, according to Pro Football Focus?

On offense, Graham Mertz leads the way with a 92.5 offensive rating. Only two other Gators crossed the 80.0 threshold on offense — receivers Ricky Pearsall (84.8) and Andy Jean (80.1) — but the latter played all of 11 snaps on the night.

Mertz was on the field for all 62 offensive snaps, and Pearsall missed just two plays. The two connected on all six targets Saturday night, including two deep balls from 20 or more yards out.

Center Jake Slaughter just missed out on the 80.0-grade club, finishing the night with a 79.2 while playing all 62 snaps. He was the team’s best pass blocker (82.8) and run blocker (73.8).

Trevor Etienne was the best rusher of the night (70.3), but he only played 22 snaps to Montrell Johnson Jr.’s 38 and 60.4 rating.

On defense, true freshman Kelby Collins led the way with a 79.9 overall rating but only played on 18 of 55 defensive snaps.

Linebacker Scooby Williams (77.8), defensive lineman Caleb Banks (76.5), JACK Princely Umanmielen (76.5), linebacker Shemar James (74.1) and safety Jordan Castell (73.2) all had strong nights and played more than half the game.

Williams was the team’s best run defender (81.6) and tackler (81.6), Umanmielen led the pass rush (88.4) and Castell was the best in coverage (74.8) on the night.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Billy Napier says Florida’s issues are ‘all correctable’

Billy Napier was happy to win against Charlotte on Saturday, but he knows his Florida Gators need to fix some things before facing Kentucky in Lexington next week.

Billy Napier didn’t attempt to mask his disappointment following Florida’s 22-7 win over Charlotte on Saturday when addressing the media in his post-game press conference.

The Gators scored on their first drive of the night but were forced to kick five field goals as the rest of the game played out. Napier praised sophomore kicker Trey Smack for stepping into the starting placekicker role and locking it down, but a 1-for-9 night on third down had the offense under a microscope immediately after.

Fortunately, Napier believes there’s little to worry about.

“I think when we look back at that, it’s going to be very technical, the game in general,” Napier said. “I think there will be things that are very correctable just based on what I observed out there, whether it’s a missed block or getting beat in pass protection. I think it was all very correctable.”

How much of Napier’s opener is coach speak and how much of it is genuine is up for debate, but there was a feeling coming into this game that the Gators would take a step back.

First off, the offensive line was down two starters for the first half and never got Micah Mazzccua back. Knijeah Harris got to play the entire night at guard, but Florida’s offense suffered without the regulars.

Then there’s the complacency issue. The Tennessee game was built up a must-win situation for Florida, and they got the job done, but no one expected UF to struggle against Charlotte. Forcing the starters to play all night probably wasn’t the plan, but Napier doesn’t think his players are getting lazy, per se.

“The disappointing thing about games like this,” said Napier, “these are the ones where maybe the average fan anticipates it getting out of control, and a lot of our young players didn’t have an opportunity to play because we didn’t get it under control. But I’m proud of our team, the character of our team.

“We stayed into it. We continued to fight. I didn’t see a lack of effort out there. I think it’s all going to be very technical and very correctable.”

Florida can make a statement with a dominant win over Kentucky, but a loss could lose the Gators whatever credibility they’ve established so far this season.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Sunday Hash: Breaking down Gators’ underwhelming win over 49ers

Pat Dooley gives his morning-after breakdown of Florida football’s win over Charlotte 49ers Saturday night.

It was nowhere near as intense Saturday night in the Swamp as it was a week earlier.

But there were almost as many nervous moments.

Like when Graham Mertz went down and was slow to get up. Or when it looked like Charlotte might score at the end of the half. Or when the 49ers drove 75 yards to make it a game.

This wasn’t the happy-happy-joy-joy game that the coaches wanted, the players expected and the fans assumed would happen against Charlotte.

But, in a way, it works.

Because this team found out a little more about itself.

It found out what it can do and what it needs to be better at doing.

The hills are alive, my friends, with the sounds of SEC teams coming at you. We are a third of the way through the season but it hasn’t really started yet.

The Sunday Hash looks back on Florida’s 22-7 win over Biff Poggi’s Charlotte 49ers.

Good, Bad and Ugly: Looking closer at Florida’s Week 4 win vs Charlotte

Here are the Gators Wire’s staff takes after Florida’s limp win over Charlotte.

Florida football earned its third win in four tries so far in the 2023 campaign on Saturday night inside the Swamp, upending the visiting Charlotte 49ers, 22-7, in a game that had far fewer fireworks than many expected.

It looked like the Gators were going to steamroll the opposition early on, but the offense began to sputter and ultimately stalled out in the second half. Fortunately, the defense was up for the task, keeping the visitors at bay for the most part while cleaning up after turnovers.

Following the win, the Gators Wire crew assembled to give their respective takes on what they saw on Saturday night. Take a look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Week 4 of the Gators’ 2023 season.

PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida’s concerning win over Charlotte

Take a look at some of the top highlights from Florida’s shaky win over Charlotte.

Billy Napier and Co. earned a much-expected win over the visiting Charlotte 49ers on Saturday night, but it was far from convincing. The first-ever gridiron meeting between the two schools concluded with the Gators earning a 22-7 final score inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Florida came out en fuego on both sides of the ball, stymying their opponent on the opening possession while pushing the ball 95 yards for the touchdown to get things cooking. However, they would score only five field goals the rest of the way.

Charlotte looked outmatched but managed to force some mistakes from their sloppily-playing hosts. Its lone touchdown came on a 75-yard drive capped by a tidy Jalen Jones delayed draw.

Take a look below at highlights from Florida’s Week 4 win over the visiting Charlotte 49ers — with more to come as the pictures roll in.

Five takeaways from Florida football’s victory over Charlotte 49ers

Florida’s defense looks sharp and the Gators beat Charlotte, 22-7, but all is not well in Gatorland despite a 3-1 start.

The Florida Gators didn’t cover the four-touchdown spread against the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday night, but they did come away with a 22-7 victory that was never really in doubt.

Unfortunately, Florida’s performance raises just about as many questions as it provides answers. The defense continues to improve from good to great by the weak and Graham Mertz and Ricky Pearsall shined on offense, but the inability to finish against a lesser opponent with a sold-out crowd watching is concerning.

Florida needed to handle Charlotte in a way that told the rest of the SEC that the win over Tennessee wasn’t a fluke. The defense did its part, but things didn’t look great on offense.

Here are five takeaways from Florida’s win against Charlotte on Saturday.

PHOTOS: A look at Florida football ahead of Charlotte 49ers matchup

Take a look at the pregame festivities ahead of Florida football’s Week 4 affair.

Florida football is set to host the Charlotte 49ers inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23, for Week 4 of collegiate gridiron action.

The Gators enter the game with a 2-1 record and are coming off a triumphant upset over the Tennessee Volunteers in the Swamp last weekend. Meanwhile, The ‘Niners are mired near the bottom of the Division 1 bracket, bringing a 1-2 record into Gainesville.

Ahead of the game, Billy Napier and Co. made their way into the stadium and onto the field en route to the pregame locker room, where the Orange and Blue will get amped ahead of its mismatch affair. Take a look below at the top highlights from the pregame festivities.