Wide receivers glow in the dark.
The best of them balk at the very name of the position. Charlotte’s team has a new leader who has learned to be a football player, not just a receiver – and that’s a good thing, because his head coach will settle for nothing less.
Jason Barnes grew up in North Carolina and went to South Carolina to hone his college skills. The coach’s reflection time formulated a new goal to create a mean group. The tone is set from the beginning of each practice. It used to be set before team meetings became official.
Returnees like Redshirt Junior Jairus MackPhD student Sean Brown and in the second year of study Duane Thomas Jr. Newcomers such as Redshirt Junior O’Mega BlakeRedshirt sophomore Isaiah Myers and redshirt senior Terez Traynor before fall camp began. Florida transfer, redshirt sophomore Max Browncame to moderate the group, and chemistry cannot be built in a month.
A group chat was created and the work has not stopped since.
Their hours in the shade with Brown, post-practice time with the JUGS machine and writing with pencil in meeting rooms have created a bond that is evident at camp. Block drills begin each day because without them, the previous steps are meaningless.
Barnes knows he didn’t get the most out of his playing career, so he made sure his wideout group learned the lesson before they took the pads off for good, and so the overtime work went into overdrive.
“As a wide receiver and an athlete, I took it for granted,” Barnes said. “I missed plays, missed reps in the weight room – I didn’t train as hard as I should have. When you get to that age, you look back on your career and tell other people not to make the same mistakes you made. It’s about passing on things I did wrong so they don’t make the same mistakes.”
For the 49ers, every day starts the same.
Tips on foot and hand positioning with attack angles are given to start with. Lessons consist of blocking properly both inside and outside of formations. Hands are a receiver’s lifeline, but Barnes wants his group to get their hands dirty before touching a football.
Routes follow, but often the ball is still missing.
Not every route ends with a pass. Anticipating the ball takes attention away from being a complete player: a blocker, sometimes a decoy, and eventually a pass catcher if the previous steps are done correctly.
“Receivers are always said to be divas,” Sean Brown said. “They just want the ball, they want to be the show and have everyone watch them. We’ve learned well as a receiver group that we’re not receivers anymore, the old receiver types are gone.”
The familiar comparison is Odell Beckham Jr. His spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone for the Giants will always be a career highlight reel. Charlotte is instead looking to wideouts like Puka Nacua for inspiration.
He entered the market as a rookie for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 and broke the rookie yardage record set in 1960 with 1,486 yards. First-year running back Kyren Williams’ 1,144 rushing yards are the reason he got this chance in the first place. He blocked in camp, rose in the rankings and seized the opportunity when Cooper Kupp struggled with injuries.
Block drills set the tone for training because they also set the tone for the role of the receiver, which Charlotte can use in all situations.
“It’s about doing the right things when nobody’s watching,” Blake said. “Blocking, making plays on the field – if you do the right things, the ball will come to you. It will only come to you if you do things for others on the field.”
The slogan also works schematically.
Passing attacks are most successful when they are inspired by a running game. Max Brown’s Throwing lanes open up when the 49ers can keep the defense guessing, and Offensive Coordinator Michael MillerThe scheme of is easier to mix when both work.
Biff Poggi‘s penchant for running the ball hasn’t stopped him from watching the daily progress in his receiver room. Confidence from above won’t hurt their chances, either on the field or from the coaching staff.
“These guys are getting better and better with each other,” Poggi said. “Quarterbacks have to be able to trust their receivers, and I think that’s happening right now. The receivers want the football, and (these) quarterbacks can get it to them.”
The group is looking to earn the admiration of the old-school coach, who has become very aware of their talent after an offseason when no one was watching. Practice is no different, and the path to becoming complete football players is no different in Charlotte, no matter what position.
Gold standards are not created by bronze work habits.
