NEXT!
Charlotte, which sent six players to the NFL this summer, is preparing for its first season without its First Class. Household names like Ogunjobi (Cleveland Browns), Duke (Carolina Panthers) and Phillips (Green Bay Packers) are gone.
So who will be the fan favorites in 2017?
Each week, we will take a look at a player whose name you could be chanting this fall!
7 – Hasaan Klugh, R-Jr. QB, Concord, N.C.
Hasaan Klugh is a dual threat. At once calm, cool and explosive.
Soft-spoken but commanding respect. Unassuming but extremely personable.
And once he steps between the lines, his eyes light up.
Last year, he took over midway through the season and led the 49ers to their first three Conference USA wins.
In his first start, he led the 49ers to their first-ever C-USA win by completing a school-record 14-of-17 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns at Florida Atlantic to earn the program's first C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honor. Among his TD passes, a 69-yarder to Austin Duke.
At Marshall, his memorable fourth-quarter flip into the end zone on a two-yard carry gave the 49ers a 27-24 road victory. That TD capped a 16-play; 80-yard drive that ate up 7:29 minutes of play.
Despite starting just over half the season, he led the 49ers in rushing TDs with eight, threw for 1356 yards and another 10 TDs and earned the team's Offensive MVP award.
He gave the 49ers offense a spark --- with a combination of passing, extend the play scrambling and turn the corner rushing. He had three games of 200 or more yards passing and three games of 60 or yards rushing. He tied a school record with three rushing TDs vs. Middle Tennessee. His top passing game was a 239-yard effort in the same game. He rushed for 95 yards vs. FIU.
This year, he takes over the team as its starting QB from Day One, intent on improving his passing accuracy.
He will be in his element from the get go.
Watch him in the bench area and you'll see him around any number of players, smiling, cutting up, and having a good time. He'll be leaping with the offense after a scoring drive and smacking shoulder pads with the defense for another three-and-out.
Watch him on the field. Outrunning defenders, rifling a pass over the middle or throwing long. A dual threat. He's like a kid on a playground who excels at fun and games.
