Rising red-shirt sophomore center Thomas La Bianca (Indian Trail, N.C./Porter Ridge High School) was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Jon Richardson Football Scholarship.
The award, donated by Jerry and Rosalind Richardson in tribute to their son, is designated for a 49ers football player from North or South Carolina who best displays five characteristics intrinsic to the development of a successful student-athlete: hard work, harmony, teamwork, listening and respect. The announcement was made at the 49ers annual All-Sports Banquet in Halton Arena.
"Thomas is the type of player and person that we want to build our program around," said Charlotte 49ers football head coach Brad Lambert. "He works hard, is dependable and brings that team attitude to every practice and game. He is an ideal representative of our program and we are proud to award him the first Jon Richardson Scholarship."
A member of the 49ers first-ever recruiting class, La Bianca was starting center for the Charlotte 49ers during the 2013 inaugural season. He was selected as one of the three 49ers flag carriers that led the team onto the field for the first game against Campbell University.
La Bianca anchored an offensive line that helped the 49ers produce 448.5 yards of total offense per game, including 206.8 rushing yards. Those totals ranked 20th and 26th in the FCS. The 49ers also ranked 27th in scoring offense with 33.4 points per game and 11th in fewest sacks allowed with 0.91 per game.
He was named third-team FCS Independent all-conference by collegesportsmadness.com.
An English major with a minor in journalism, La Bianca earned athletic director’s list honors for spring 2013 for posting a GPA of 3.0 or higher.