Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?
Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.
Read Article →Charlotte 49ers Quarterbacks and Receivers
American Athletic. Starting quarterbacks by year: 2026: Cole Gonzales; 2025: Grayson Loftis, Conner Harrell, Zach Wilcke; 2024: Deshawn Purdie, Max Brown, Trexler Ivey; 2023: Trexler Ivey, Jalon Jones.
Charlotte Starting Quarterbacks and Receivers by Season
| Season | Quarterbacks (starts) | Top receivers (targets) | Pass Yds | TD-INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Cole Gonzales (5) | Jaden Barnes 37, Jaylen Hampton 26, Derrick Eley 20 | 886 | 3-7 |
| 2025 | Grayson Loftis (7), Conner Harrell (4), Zach Wilcke (1) | Javen Nicholas 81, Sean Brown 49, E. Jai Mason 44 | 2,380 | 14-13 |
| 2024 | Deshawn Purdie (7), Max Brown (3), Trexler Ivey (2) | O'Mega Blake 36, Sean Brown 35, Colin Weber 20 | 2,685 | 16-11 |
| 2023 | Trexler Ivey (7), Jalon Jones (5) | Colin Weber 37, Jack Hestera 30, Jairus Mack 28 | 1,998 | 7-13 |
| 2022 | Chris Reynolds (10), James Foster (1) | Grant DuBose 62, Elijah Spencer 58, Victor Tucker 40 | 3,256 | 27-13 |
| 2021 | Chris Reynolds (11), James Foster (1) | Grant DuBose 67, Victor Tucker 50, Elijah Spencer 26 | 2,953 | 27-10 |
| 2020 | Chris Reynolds (6) | Victor Tucker 44, Micaleous Elder 34, Cameron Dollar 17 | 1,331 | 10-2 |
| 2019 | Chris Reynolds (11), Brett Kean (1) | Victor Tucker 76, Cameron Dollar 63, Tyler Ringwood 28 | 2,557 | 23-13 |
| 2018 | Chris Reynolds (6), Evan Shirreffs (4), Hasaan Klugh (1) | Victor Tucker 81, Workpeh Kofa 45, Rico Arnold 31 | 2,055 | 9-7 |
| 2017 | Hasaan Klugh (11), Brooks Barden (1) | Trent Bostick 63, Mark Quattlebaum 50, Workpeh Kofa 46 | 1,668 | 10-16 |
| 2016 | Hasaan Klugh (7), Kevin Olsen (4) | Austin Duke 89, T.L. Ford II 72, Workpeh Kofa 47 | 2,151 | 16-5 |
| 2015 | Lee McNeill (6), Brooks Barden (5), Matt Johnson (1) | Austin Duke 91, Trent Bostick 60, T.L. Ford II 42 | 2,033 | 12-22 |
College starts are inferred: the team's first passer in each game.
2026 Charlotte Target Tree
| Player | Pos | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden Barnes | WR | 37 | 27 | 262 | 0 |
| Jaylen Hampton | WR | 26 | 19 | 211 | 2 |
| Derrick Eley | WR | 20 | 12 | 189 | 1 |
| Khamani Alexander | RB | 10 | 7 | 47 | 0 |
| Jason Jeffares | TE | 7 | 6 | 44 | 0 |
| Chance Williams | RB | 6 | 5 | 33 | 0 |
| Logan Mauldin | TE | 6 | 4 | 31 | 0 |
| Cam Pedro | WR | 5 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Tank Boston | WR | 4 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| Henry Rutledge | RB | 3 | 3 | 23 | 0 |
| Gus McGee | TE | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Zyheem Collick | WR | 3 | 2 | 29 | 0 |
2026 Charlotte Games
| Week | Opponent | Result | Quarterback | Cmp-Att | Yds | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | vs the citadel | L 41-43 | Cole Gonzales | 28-41 | 322 | 3 | 2 |
| Week 2 | at MISS | L 9-41 | Cole Gonzales | 20-28 | 179 | 0 | 1 |
| Week 3 | at APP | L 21-26 | Cole Gonzales | 20-33 | 206 | 0 | 2 |
| Week 4 | vs UL | L 7-34 | Cole Gonzales | 16-29 | 104 | 0 | 1 |
| Week 5 | vs MEM | L 8-59 | Cole Gonzales | 6-15 | 75 | 0 | 1 |
2026 Charlotte Connections
| QB → Receiver | Tgt | Cmp | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Gonzales → Jaden Barnes | 33 | 22 | 239 | 0 |
| Cole Gonzales → Jaylen Hampton | 21 | 14 | 191 | 2 |
| Cole Gonzales → Derrick Eley | 18 | 10 | 152 | 1 |
| Cole Gonzales → Khamani Alexander | 10 | 6 | 45 | 0 |
| Cole Gonzales → Chance Williams | 6 | 5 | 33 | 0 |
| Cole Gonzales → Jason Jeffares | 6 | 6 | 44 | 0 |
| Conner Harrell → Jaylen Hampton | 5 | 4 | 17 | 0 |
| Cole Gonzales → Logan Mauldin | 5 | 3 | 26 | 0 |
QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET
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What the box score cannot tell you about the people behind the pass.
What CPOE Means, and How ACE Builds on It
Completion percentage over expected gives credit for difficult completions. Here is how ACE measures it.
Read Article →Why Sacks Belong Partly to the Quarterback
A sack is the rush, the line and the decision. Why our dropback stats count them.
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