What Tim Albin said before Charlotte's game at UAB

Charlotte head coach Tim Albin opened his Tuesday press conference by reflecting on the 49ers' 38-31 overtime loss to Tulane on Oct. 30, taking responsibility for the fake punt call that backfired. "That probably is a wrap right there, to be honest with you," Albin said. "I said that postgame, and I'm not going to shy away from that."

He then transitioned to the UAB game, beginning with UAB's defense. Albin credited defensive coordinator Todd Grantham's first-year overhaul and singled out Marlin Dean. "The Marlin Dean kid is sacks. I mean, he's a first day draft guy," Albin said. "He is really talented. You got to know where he's at. They do a good job moving him around."

Albin also flagged defensive end Tylin Jackson as someone Charlotte's offensive line must account for and said the Blazers are among the top teams in the American in points per game allowed. His assessment of the matchup was direct: "There's no way we're going to be able to get into a scoring match against them."

Charlotte is 1-7 overall (1-3 American) and has lost seven of its last eight games, but its last two — a 38-31 win over Temple on Oct. 17 and the overtime loss at Tulane — were the team's best performances of the season. Albin said the adversity has built a bond. "We have gone through a lot," he said. "I couldn't be prouder."

He identified first-down success, avoiding third-and-long situations and establishing the run as keys to competing at UAB. "When you can't run it, it is hard to play quarterback, it's more difficult to call the game," he said.

The 49ers play at UAB at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Protective Stadium on ESPN+.

Full transcript

Coach Tim Albin

On the Tulane loss and the fake punt call:

Tim Albin: "A great atmosphere on a big stage. I mentioned postgame our commissioner was in the house. That's great for our league. Tulane, again, tip my hat — hell of a ball game. Coach Hall and his staff did a real nice job. Disappointing, heartbreaking loss for us. Real proud of the effort of our kids. They continue to battle. We got great leadership in the group and everybody — all three phases — everybody had a chance to finish it out with just a play here or a play there. I mean, not to start singling things out, but the fake punt that I called — you just go and say that probably is a wrap right there, to be honest with you. I said that postgame, and I'm not going to shy away from that. That's what I told the team. But there's a lot of positives, and that's what we're going to build off of, continue to build off of moving forward."

On UAB's defense:

Tim Albin: "We are in obviously early stages with UAB. I'll start with their defense. There are a lot of accolades, a lot of stats. Coach Grantham has done a really good job his first year on the job there. He's got a lot of experience in a lot of different places over the years. I don't know him personally, but he's got a great track record, and he's assembled some really good talent on the roster defensively. The Marlin Dean kid is sacks. I mean, he's a first day draft guy. He is really talented. You got to know where he's at. They do a good job moving him around. Really good in the secondary. I think they're top three in points per game. I think our next three opponents are one, two, and three — or three, two, three, and four — just in that category looking at the stats on UAB. They've got some really solid stuff defensively. Offensively they do some good things. You're going to have to have a couple different game plans against them with their personnel packages — a fair amount of shifting and motioning. We'll have to be smart. And then we've got to be better special teams-wise from the last game. We are on the road for a 3:30 kick."

On the team's fight through a 1-7 start:

Tim Albin: "I'm very proud of that. We have gone through a lot. I think we got a really tight bond from those things. You do things outside of football to strengthen the bond. We've had conversations in here about things that we do at the hotel and home games, but you go through the things that we've gone through — that also builds a bond. I couldn't be prouder. I mean, we've played Memphis, North Texas — they're one, two, and three in the league. And then you come back with a road win at Temple, and we were playing Tulane. I said this postgame about Tulane — they played two Power 4 schools. Army, that's a three-point game at Army, held Army to 20 points. They're a prideful program. It was a ball game at halftime, and they made plays at the end. We play in a great league. Back to our team and how they compete — that speaks volumes to our staff and our leadership, and I'm very proud of that. I, as the head coach, have got to get us across the finish line. We were right there in this last game and I couldn't get it done, and I feel terrible. But we're close, and we're going to keep going one day at a time, control the controllables, and prepare the best Monday, the best Tuesday that we can, and move forward."

On first-down success and game-planning against UAB's defense:

Tim Albin: "The big thing is going to be having some success on first down. Because if you're going to be in a lot of third and longs versus this group, you're going to be in trouble. He's got good pressure packages. They can cover you in the back end. They're multiple like everybody is these days with their front — four down, odd, shifting and things like that. You can't just put all your focus on Marlin, No. 4. They got other guys that are capable. The other defensive end, No. 17, he's usually to the field, but they mix him up. You're going to have to know where he's at as well. And they do a fair amount of pressure with the secondary. Back to our game plan — there's no way we're going to be able to get into a scoring match against them. I know that. I think our best is going to be third and manageable. Pick and choose your spots. You're going to have to be solid on the turnover margin piece of this and be good in the kicking game to give yourself your best chance."

On establishing the run and not being one-dimensional:

Tim Albin: "The turnovers is the key. Let's get them, not have them. Everybody knows that formula. The common denominator in the last couple games of 30 points — obviously the turnover piece of it, I think it's one — but it's the ability to run the ball and us not being one-dimensional. I can't put enough emphasis on this: when you can't run it, it is hard to play quarterback, it's more difficult to call the game. One thing I will sit here and pound the table on is the guys up front and the ability to establish a running game. I'm not going to put a number on the yards, but you got to be able to establish it and not be one-dimensional. We want to score every drive, and especially after a turnover — especially when you get one down there across your 50, that would be key. The most important thing is ending every series with a kick. Extra point would be great — that's what we want. Field goals, okay. But a punt, we'll take a punt."

On the progression of the receiving corps — Jaylen Hampton and Jaden Barnes:

Tim Albin: "That speaks volumes to Coach Turner and Coach O that work receivers. They do a great job. From a personnel standpoint, recruiting, we've done a good job of identifying talent, and then Todd and the rest of the staff on offense, as far as getting those guys targets, finding ways to get him touches. To be honest with you, coming down the stretch versus Tulane, when we could have let the clock get down under five — our thought process was we were attacking. Threw the ball a couple of passes. We're three first downs in the game. We weren't good enough to just slide up and say we're going to run it for eight straight times and get it done. We were trying to find ways to get those guys the ball, formationally and getting them matched up, knowing that we were probably going to see a little bit more man because of the talent in that room. I like the room. We got some younger guys behind them that you're not seeing now that eventually you will because we've stayed fairly healthy. But I want us as an offense to continue to find ways, and the old Nick Saban story — don't think of plays, think of players. I think that's the mindset we have, and I think we show that in how we call plays."

On balancing aggressive play-calling with game management:

Tim Albin: "We want to be aggressive. We're going to call the plays that are needed to win the game. I mean, I thought it was an onside kick at App State. I thought it was a punt fake — no, slash them. We're going to be aggressive with the play call on all three phases. Do it smartly, knowing that it's not always going to work out in our favor. And right now, me personally — they've kind of hurt us straight up. But they're calculated. We're looking at film and saying, okay, this has got a chance, what percentage, and I make the call on it. So to your point directly — we're going to be aggressive, do it smartly, and we can't be one-dimensional. That's what I'm probably the most guarded against all the time, being one-dimensional. Because you get in those games one-dimensional, they pin the ears back, man — it gets tough out there. So from a general philosophy, all three phases: be aggressive, but do it smartly. But I'm going to come back to the coach speak of execution."

On penalty discipline — 13th nationally, four straight games with five or fewer:

Tim Albin: "I appreciate that question, Joe. I'm proud of them. We had a couple penalties — two of the five that we had were in the fourth quarter, in that last minute, that last drive. That's tough, but I'm not mad at him. We have made a ton of progress in that area. Just from the numbers — you look at the numbers from years and I've showed it to the team as a bullet point. The focus going into the Tulane game was, hey, we start the game — no penalties and no turnovers. I know what the stats say. We're in the top 20 last week and moved up, but we're at the bottom in turnover margin. And I use those two examples of, hey, okay, yeah, the stat — you are what the stats say you are — but when the game starts, it's zero on the scoreboard and the stat sheet on the turnover margin. So what are we going to be tonight? And I challenged them. I'm trying to get their attention on the turnover margin and not be, oh, we're last or we're bottom — it's zero-zero. And we got the first turnover, and I was like, hey, we're plus one. Plus one, the game's not over. That was the mindset of it. I think the guys are bought into it, and that's going to be our approach going into this week. How did we get to this point? A staff delivering the message and the guys buying into it."