Charlotte 49ers football – season two begins Thursday

The second season of Charlotte 49ers football starts Thursday, Aug. 28, with an away game against the Campbell University Camels; Charlotte’s opening home game is Saturday, Sept. 6, against Johnson C. Smith University.

Sixteen starters are among the 53 returning letter winners, including starting quarterback Matt Johnson and leading rusher Kalif Phillips.

During the offseason, the 49ers coaching staff underwent changes with tight ends coach Johnson Richardson being promoted from a graduate assistant position and former NFL player Aaron Curry named defensive graduate assistant. The 49ers added three other graduate assistants: Scotty Braswell, Mikel Hunter and Matt Woodlief. Braswell and Woodlief served in staff positions last year, while Hunter was a starting wide receiver and kick return specialist. Head coach Brad Lambert takes over coaching inside linebackers replacing Drew Dayton, who resigned to take a position outside the field of collegiate athletics.

The 11-game 2014 Charlotte 49ers football schedule includes contests against four schools that were ranked or received votes in the final 2013 FCS national polls and eight teams that appeared on the inaugural 2013 schedule. The 49ers have six home games and five road games.

Information on football tickets and home-game parking is on the Web.