For two Charlotte 49ers with Buffalo ties, friends will become foes in Bahamas Bowl
When news broke that Charlotte would play in the Bahamas Bowl — and that their opponent would be Buffalo — 49ers’ junior receiver Tyler Ringwood started working his phone.
Ringwood, a native of Buffalo who began his college career with the hometown Bulls in 2016, began texting former teammates with some good-natured trash talking, mostly with buddies Antonio Nunn (a receiver) and Kadofi Wright (a defensive back).
“Lots of fun bantering back and forth,” said Ringwood. “I know about 95 percent of those guys. I built close relationships with them. It’s going to be fun to see those guys, matching up on the other side of the ball.”
The 49ers (7-5) and Bulls (7-5) will play Friday in Nassau’s Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium (2 p.m., ESPN). Charlotte is riding a five-game winning streak, while the Mid-American Conference’s Bulls have won five of six. They finished tied for second with Ohio in the MAC’s East Division behind Miami (Ohio).
Ringwood, along with 49ers’ senior defensive tackle Tommy Doctor, grew up in Buffalo. Ringwood, who played at Bishop-Timon-St. Jude High, redshirted his freshman season with the Bulls, then transferred to Erie Community College, which is also in Buffalo. After one season at Erie, Ringwood transferred to Charlotte, where he has become a key member of the 49ers’ offense.
“Back home, it just wasn’t the best place to live,” Ringwood said of his decision to leave Buffalo. “I really had to get out of it. The poverty, crime and gang-related activity — it wasn’t something that I wanted to be surrounded by. So I chose not to stay around.”
Ringwood has become a leader of a talented — and young — corps of 49ers’ receivers. He’s third on the team (behind sophomores Victor Tucker and Cameron Dollar) with 20 receptions for 331 yards and five touchdowns.
Doctor, who grew up in the Buffalo suburb of Grand Island, N.Y., was a fan of the Bulls early on. His sister recently graduated from Buffalo, but he was only offered a spot on the Bulls squad as a preferred walk-on. Doctor, whose father Tom and uncle Sean both played pro ball for the Buffalo Bills, instead went to prep school at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.
“It wasn’t working out in Buffalo, so I took my playing ways to Fork Union,” Doctor said. “Best decision I ever made, deciding to do that, then come on to Charlotte. I don’t regret one thing.”
Doctor, a mainstay of Charlotte’s interior defensive line, has 25 tackles this season.
“Everything just seemed to work out perfectly,” said Doctor. “I’m going to have tons of family at the game. There will be tons of emotions, a lot of excitement.”