How Charlotte football’s new defensive coordinator plans to turn 49ers’ fortunes around

Ryan Osborn doesn’t just play the EA Sports Madden video game. He lives it.

In his first year as defensive coordinator with the Charlotte 49ers, Osborn is tasked with rejuvenating one of the worst defenses in college football from a season ago.

While video games aren’t a form of preparation, unlike for Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill, Osborn spends the majority of his waking hours watching film, creating formation packages and teaching his defense a professional approach to the game.

It has been reported that the beloved NCAA Football franchise will return to shelves next summer, sparking the interest of Charlotte’s four-star freshman running back Durell Robinson, who claims he will run for “about 500 yards” when he plays as himself.

Maybe not against Charlotte’s defense, though.

According to first-year head coach Biff Poggi, the 49ers’ defense could be one of the best in the nation and suggested opposing defenses shouldn’t run the ball against Osborn’s unit.

“It’s not just the four. We’re going to play like 11,” Poggi said of the defensive line. “We are so deep there. They are really strong and play with great leverage. I will be totally shocked if people even try to run the ball on us because we are really strong.”

High-level experience

Osborn, who joins the 49ers following a season as a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens, has made stops in the SEC at Mississippi State and Florida, as well as the Big Ten, where he met Poggi on Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan staff in 2021.

Osborn worked closely with the outside linebackers and defensive linemen with the Wolverines, where he helped guide Aidan Hutchinson, who earned first-team All-American honors, was a Heisman Trophy finalist and eventual No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Following a College Football Playoff appearance in Ann Arbor, Osborn made the jump to the NFL, joining John Harbaugh’s Ravens staff, where he was reunited with Wolverines’ standout David Ojabo and current Carolina Panther Justin Houston.

Even though Houston only worked with Osborn for one season in Baltimore, he noticed Osborn’s dedication to simplifying and teaching the game.

“Coach Osborn is a great coach. He’s a great dude and a great person. He’s great for any team; I think he’ll help build character,” Houston said. “I think he did a great job explaining that at a level that people could understand. He broke the defense down for a lot of the younger guys and made it easier for them to understand. I told (Osborn) we’ll link up soon. Any time I get the opportunity, I’m going to go holler at him.”

Even after a successful first season in the NFL, featuring a wild-card appearance and a top-three unit in both total and scoring defense, it was an easy decision for Osborn to join Poggi’s staff in January.

“I met Biff in 2021. He didn’t know me, and I didn’t know him. When I was at Michigan, I was just going. I was there for a reason, and that was to help (Michigan defensive coordinator) Mike Macdonald with anything and everything he needed me to do.

“We had some unreal players at Michigan; they just needed to regroup and refocus and, ultimately, it revitalized the program. And Biff was a big part of that. That’s why it was very easy for me to say yes when he called and said he was going to Charlotte. I’ve got so much respect for him and how he treats people.”

New beginnings

Fast-forward to February.

In the team’s first meeting, it was unclear what Charlotte’s defense would look like following an abysmal 3-9 season. Osborn’s initial presentation to the team resulted in silence. Crickets drowned out a room filled with a nearly even mix of new and returning players.

In an effort to get to know his players and build a new standard for a program with just one winning season, Osborn had one message for his defense — communication breeds understanding.

“We say all the time that communication breeds understanding. I need a back-and-forth. You need to tell me if I’m (expletive) up, and I’m going to tell you the same,” said Osborn. “I asked the question about who we would be on defense, and no one had anything.

“In college, the difference sometimes is that there are a lot of guys who don’t have an understanding of the game of football. When you will get a certain block, down and distance, formation distribution. You have to teach more at this level, not that development doesn’t happen at the NFL level; it’s just a different development than what you get here,” Osborn said.

Osborn is taking over a unit with players who are making their fourth and even fifth stops across college football — players who have one final shot at realizing their dreams of becoming NFL players.

“We’ve got to eliminate distractions. This is the hardest thing — distractions and sacrifice,” Osborn said. “Sometimes you don’t realize it, but it’s buddies back home, it’s girlfriends, it’s family members in your ear — there’s so many things weighing down on these guys, some of them just want to go between the white lines and play football.”

Despite their struggles from a season ago, Osborn inherited a solid group of returnees. That group includes the team’s leading tackler from 2022, Prince Bemah.

“They were 130 out of 131 on defense last year. It was awful. But then, I show up on January 20th, and I see the returnees Derek Boykins, Prince Bemah, Wayne Jones, Mike Kelly, Dez Morgan, Jalar Holley, Reid Williford, and I’m like, ‘What?’ I told Biff, even though I don’t have a crystal ball, there’s no way we’re not going to be better.”

And that’s not including the new additions on the defensive side of the ball, which includes four- and five-star talent from across the nation.

But what is the strength of the defense? For Osborn, it’s his specialty — the front four.

“I feel like our front has a chance to be really special,” he said. Talking about edges and what that means to play edge in this scheme and this defense. You look at the Ravens and at Michigan; it’s just guys that create problems and create havoc. That’s the goal.”

The edge is one of Charlotte’s deepest positions, and it’s headlined by a pair of Michigan transfers and Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List candidates, Julius Welschof and Eyabi Okie-Anoma.

“We have big, strong, physical dudes inside. Rugged dudes. Glass eaters and such. Just guys that will play square at the point of attack,” said Osborn. “If you want to one-on-one block them, they’re going to (expletive) you up. They’re going to knock you off the ball and knock you back.”

Charlotte’s defense is over an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier as a group average from 2022, boding well for their first year in the American Athletic Conference.

Leading by example

On paper, Charlotte’s defense is much better than it’s been since Glenn Spencer’s one-year tenure as defensive coordinator ended in 2018. Osborn’s unit has dominated the spring and fall camp sessions and is gearing up for a Week 1 matchup with South Carolina State, followed by two road trips to Power Five programs Maryland and Florida.

So, who is the leader of the defense? According to Osborn, it’s got to be him.

“Not everyone wants to be vocal, and if you’re trying to force someone to be who they are not, it’s detrimental,” he said. ”I think we have more lead-by-examples than true vocal guys. Because this group is new and it’s a smorgasbord of people, it’s my job to lead them. Then it’s their job to follow, and at times when they feel like they are right and they can hold other people accountable, then they’re able to go.”

It’s not that the group doesn’t have good leadership. Week 1 captains Demetrius Knight and Mike Kelly, among others, have made their presence felt, as well as returning safety Wayne Jones, who “is a guy that when he speaks, everyone listens,” according to Osborn.

While Poggi and the team’s overarching goal is the win the AAC, Osborn has more game-by-game goals.

“When you think about the plan to win games, you have to play great defense,” Osborn said. “You have to limit explosives, limit missed tackles and be good in the red area. For the most part, if you follow that suit, you’ll be good.”