Charlotte's Defensive Backs, Pt. 1!
Part 1 of 2 as Charlotte enters its first week of spring practice.
Spring is in the air! Not only is the weather warming up, the sun is out longer. Fun is to be had, both on the football field and off. Charlotte begins spring practice this week, and you can find my spring practice primer here. I’m excited to get out to see the 49ers play some spring ball. All of your questions won’t be answered this spring, but we will see what sort of foundations Tim Albin can set in this early practice period. Beyond that, I’m almost finished previewing the spring roster. This is part one of defensive backs, we’ll finish with part two, and we’ll have the special teams squad, and we’ll be done! Then players will leave, players will join, and these articles won’t mean anything! Joy! In all seriousness, I’ll update you on roster moves after spring practice ends and the spring portal opens. As spring practices open up, I’ll try and update you all on what I see and hear. I’m hoping to get a chance to speak to some coaches and players and am excited to share with you what I can find out. Now that housekeeping is out of the way, I’ll get into Charlotte’s defensive backs!
Al-Ma’hi Ali
Senior
2023 Transfer from Saint Frances University. Ali committed to Charlotte on December 21st, 2022
Al-Ma’hi Ali is entering his 3rd year with the 49ers. Last season, Ali played in 12 games, had 2 interceptions, 35 solo tackles, 16 assists, 1 TFL, 9 passes deflected, and 1 forced fumble. This was an increase from the season before, where he only played in 6 games, though he did record 14 solo tackles, 2 passes deflected, and another forced fumble. Before committing to Charlotte as a transfer, he played for Saint Francis University for one season as a redshirt freshman. There, he played in 10 games, had 2 interceptions, 38 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and five more passes broken up. Before Saint Francis, he actually played his freshman season at Old Dominion, played in 3 games, and recorded just as many tackles. Ali played high school ball for St Frances Academy. The 247Sports Composite ranked him a 3* safety prospect, the 210th-best safety in the class of 2020, and the 65th-ranked player out of the state of Pennsylvania. Coming out of high school, he had P5 offers from Kansas State and Maryland. Al-Ma’hi Ali also ran track in high school.
Caleb Curtain
RS Senior
New Transfer from Elon. Curtain committed to Charlotte on January 1st, 2025
Caleb Curtain joins Charlotte this season before spring practices begin. He’s spent his last 4 seasons at Elon. After his freshman year, he redshirted, only playing in four games. Since then, he’s been a solid contributor, playing in 11 games each in 2022 and 2023, and playing in all games for Elon in 2024. Over his 38 games, he’s snagged 7 interceptions with 1 score in 2023, and he’s accumulated 110 solo tackles, 61 assists, 11.5 TFLs, 7 sacks, 23 more passes deflected, and 2 fumbles recovered. While there, Caleb was the recipient of the 2024 Chuck Boone Leadership and Excellence Award, which identifies excellence on and off the field in the CAA. (Coastal Athletic Association) The awards didn’t stop there, as he was also nominated for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is given to the college football player whose combo of academics, play, and community service are top-notch, and he received a nomination for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Caleb played high school football for Grimsley High School out of Greensboro, NC, where he was a two-way player. He posted over 600 yards in receiving with 8 TDs, adding another 354 yards on special teams in the return game, and recorded 45 tackles and 2 INTs on defense. He’s a former 2021 DPOY, Metro 4A All-American, and 4A first-team all-state. His only offer out of college was to Elon, who signed him as a wide receiver.
Treyveon McGee
Graduate Student
2024 Transfer. McGee committed to Charlotte on December 12th, 2023.
Treyveon McGee enters his second year with the program. There was a time when he entered the portal, in December of this past year, but he has since withdrawn. Good! Last season he played in 11 games, making 27 solo tackles, 12 more assists, 2.5 TFLs, and 1 pass deflected. Before Charlotte, Treyveon played for two seasons at Iowa State, playing in 10 games in 2022, recording 12 total tackles and 1 pass breakup, and another 4 games in 2023, recording 5 tackles. That year, Iowa State’s defensive backs were one of their strongest units, which probably influenced his decision to transfer. Before Iowa State, McGee played two seasons at Independence Community College. He played in 11 games in his second season, recording 4 solo tackles, 5 assists, 1.5TFLs, and 1 pass breakup. Coming into ICC, he’d actually made a position change from wide receiver to defensive back. At Ypsilanti Community High School, Treyveon was a three-time All-Conference selection at receiver, who also ran track and won the conference championship in the high jump and 400m. He’s currently tied for the fourth-best attempt in the high jump for Ypsilanti with a jump of 6’0.
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Collin Gill
RS Sophomore
New Transfer from Georgia. Gill committed to Charlotte on January 23rd, 2025.
Collin Gill joins the team before spring practice. Before Charlotte, he had a brief stint at Georgia. He committed to UGA on June 6th of 2024 but was back in the portal by January. He only appeared in one game, their 59-21 win vs. UMass. Before Georgia, Gill attended Oregon as a freshman but transferred after their spring game in 2024. He was originally slated to go to Temple but was able to find that spot on Georgia’s roster instead. Gill committed to Oregon from St. John’s High School in Washington, D.C. Coming out of high school, Gill was rated as a 3* cornerback prospect, the 116th-best in the nation, but the 6th-best player out of DC in the class of 2023.
Check out Collin’s Hudl profile here: https://www.hudl.com/profile/12533819/Collin-Gill
Gavin Shipman
RS Senior
New Transfer from Harvard. Shipman committed to Charlotte on January 4th, 2025
Another new face, Gavin Shipman joins Charlotte ahead of spring practice. Gavin comes to us from Harvard, (where he was a Neuroscience major) after playing there for four seasons. Playing in 26 games over 4 years, the majority of his production came in 2023, where he played in 10 games, recording 29 solo tackles, 20 assists, 1 TFL, 1 INT, and 8 pass breakups. Before Harvard, Gavin played football at Thompson High School in Alabaster, AL. Over his three-year varsity career at Thompson, Gavin accumulated 7 interceptions for 218 yards, 21 passes deflected, 112 tackles including 74 solo, and 6 TFLs. He was the valedictorian of his class at Thompson High School.
Check out Gavin’s Hudl profile here: https://www.hudl.com/profile/9737416/Gavin-Shipman
Antonio Cotman, Jr.
RS Sophomore
2024 Transfer from 2024. Cotman committed to Charlotte on May 5th, 2024.
Antonio joined the program after spring practice last season. He saw action against Gardner-Webb, Indiana, (where he made 1 tackle) East Carolina, and South Florida. He had activated his redshirt at his previous stop, Virginia Tech. While at VT during his freshman season, Antonio appeared against Marshall, Pitt, and Florida State, mostly on special teams. He did not record any stats. Antonio Cotman Jr. began his football career at Life Christian Academy in Colonial Heights, Virginia. As a senior, he was listed as having 41 tackles and 10 pass breakups. (They mention he only allowed 3 completions all season) As a junior, add 25 more tackles and only two completions allowed, as a sophomore, he had 31 tackles and a forced fumble. All together, that’s 97 tackles. As a prospect, Antonio was a consensus 3* prospect according to 247Sports, the 67th-best cornerback prospect in the class of 2023, and that year’s 16th-best player out of the state of Virginia.
Check out Antonio’s Hudl profile here: https://www.hudl.com/profile/11272776/Antonio-Cotman-Jr
Ja’Qurious Conley
RS Senior
2024 Transfer from North Carolina. Conley committed to Charlotte on June 4th, 2024.
Ja’Qurious Conley is entering his second year with Charlotte. Last season, He appeared in six games; Navy, Memphis, Tulane, USF, FAU, and UAB. He recorded 12 solo tackles, 14 assists, 1.5 TFLs. Before Charlotte, Ja’Qurious was at North Carolina for three seasons, from 2020 to 2022. In his freshman season, 2020, he appeared in 10 games and started in the Orange Bowl versus Texas A&M. He made 53 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, and 1 QB hurry. During his sophomore season, he appeared in 11 games, 10 of which he started. He finished the season with 46 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 TFLs, 1 QB hurry, and a fumble recovery. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending injury vs. Wofford, only two games away from the end of the 2021 season. In 2022, he only appeared in two games, apparently still rehabbing his injury. Before UNC, Conley played high school football at Northside High School, in Jacksonville, FL. According to his 247Sports Scouting Report, he’s had experience at safety, corner, linebacker, quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and has experience returning kicks. A former 4* prospect according to the 247Sports Composite, the 9th-best safety recruit in the class of 2020, and the 5th-best player out of North Carolina that same year. He’s a former All-American Bowl and Shrine Bowl selection and a member of the ESPN300. Name an honor in the state of NC and he received it; NCPreps All-State, MaxPreps All-State, All-Coastal 3A Conference POY, and more.
Check Out Ja’Qurious’ Hudl profile here: https://www.hudl.com/profile/7995490/JaQurious-Conley
Derrick Edwards
RS Senior
2024 Transfer from Louisville. Edwards committed to Charlotte on January 6th, 2024.
Derrick Edwards III is entering his second year with the program. Last year, Edwards saw action against North Carolina, Indiana, and UAB. Edwards made 1 solo tackle versus Indiana. Before Charlotte, Derrick was at Louisville for three seasons. Derrick saw pretty much all of his action in 2023, playing in 11 games and making 5 tackles. However, across five of those games he only saw 15 snaps. During his first two years, he only logged a single snap on defense, coming from the 2022 Fenway Bowl versus Cincy, though he did see 16 snaps on special teams. Before Louisville, Derrick was a cornerback at Space Coast Jr/Sr High School in Cocoa, FL. (Space Coast is a sick name.) Over his varsity career, he played in 11 games, snagging 4 INTs, 5 pass deflections, 54 tackles including 39 solos, 7 TFLs, and 4 fumble recoveries. As a prospect, the 247Sports Composite ranked Edwards as the 96th-best CB, and the 141st-best ranked player out of the state of Florida. He P4 had offers from Louisville, Baylor, Cincy, Florida State, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Pitt, Syracuse, Tennessee, and Wake Forest. He was offered by Albin’s Ohio team as well.
Check out Derrick’s Hudl profile here: https://www.hudl.com/profile/9841961/Derrick-Edwards-III
Cary Grant
RS Junior
2024 Transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Grant committed to Charlotte on December 20th, 2023.
Cary Grant joined Charlotte at the end of 2023, before the ‘24 season. He came in as a junior before activating his redshirt. Before Charlotte, Grant played for Mississippi Gulf Community College, totaling 38 tackles, including 16 solo and 22 individual, 2 TFLs, and 2 pass breakups. Before MGCC, Grant played for one season in 2022 at Highland Community College in Kansas. There, he tallied 56 tackles, including 34 solo, 4 TFLs, and 1 QB hurry. Cary played high school football at Warren Easton High School. Cary was not ranked coming out of high school, but as a JUCO player, he was rated a 3* athlete by the 247Sports Composite, achieving the 10th-best spot as a JUCO cornerback, and the 34th-best ranked player out of the state of Louisiana.
Check out Cary’s Hudl profile here: https://www.hudl.com/profile/13199308/Cary-Grant
Dwight Bootle II
RS Junior
New Transfer from Nebraska. Bootle committed to Charlotte on January 13th, 2025.
Dwight Bootle II joins Charlotte ahead of spring practices. Before Charlotte, Bootle spent two seasons at Nebraska, where he played in six games total, three in ‘23 and another three in ‘24. All told, Bootle tallied 2 assisted tackles, both in the ‘23 season. He may have appeared in more games as a true freshman, but unfortunately suffered an injury in Nebraska’s game against Northern Illinois. Bootle played high school football at Miami Palmetto, out of Miami Florida. Over his two years on varsity, Dwight recorded 99 tackles, 40 solo, 59 assisted, 1 TFL, 1 INT, and 22 passes deflected. Coming out of Miami Palmetto, the 247Sports Composite ranked Bootle as the 103rd-best cornerback prospect, and the 149th-best player out of Florida in the class of 2023. Charlotte offered Bootle out of high school and struck out the first time around, but looks like they ended up winning him over in the end.
Check out this Bootle highlight from ESPN:
Check out Dwight’s Hudl profile here: https://www.hudl.com/profile/15273930/Dwight-Bootle