Sports

Maurice Flowers' greatest coaching challenge will come from his college alma mater.

2008 FILE PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON

Maurice Flowers, who led Olympic, West Charlotte and Chester (S.C.) high schools to postseason berths, is Johnson C. Smith's new offensive coordinator.

Flowers, Johnson C. Smith’s new offensive coordinator, will be responsible over a unit that averaged 18.7 points and 279.5 yards per game in 2009. Both ranked near the bottom of the CIAA in a 3-7 campaign.

“I’m excited about it,” said Flowers, 40, a 1991 JCSU graduate who resigned from Chester (S.C.) High in May. “I want to get my feet wet. I’m looking forward to it. It’s short notice, but that’s no excuse.”

Flowers developed a reputation as one of the top offensive coaches in the Charlotte region, earning playoff berths at Olympic, West Charlotte and Chester. In two seasons at Chester, the Cyclones went 21-6 and advanced to the 2008 S.C. 3A championship game. Flowers' 2007 West Charlotte team went 13-2 and advanced to the N.C. 4A semifinals and his 2006 Olympic squad tied a school record with 10 wins.

 “He was a potential candidate (for the position) last year, but it didn’t work out,” second-year Golden Bulls head coach Steve Aycock said. “He’s here now, and I’m looking forward to his contribution. It’s a situation where he’s confident in what he does and I can’t wait to see what he does in the college ranks.”

Flowers, who played quarterback at JCSU, will keep last year’s spread offense, albeit with new terminology. One of his challenges is to produce more consistency at quarterback, where Harding High graduate Ryan Carter is the incumbent.

“I want to put up more points and control the clock better than last year,” Aycock said. “If we can consistently move the ball down the field, that’ll be better.”

Carter struggled in his first season as a starter, completing 97 of 182 passes for 1,024 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. Four challengers are expected on campus when preseason drills open on Aug. 7.

“For me as a coach, it’s always started with quarterbacks,” said Flowers, a 1987 East Mecklenburg graduate who also runs a summer quarterbacks camp at JCSU.

The Bulls have experience on offense with nine starters returning, including three-time all-CIAA receiver Jeremy Franklin. JCSU will need to develop complementary threats in order to improve on the preseason expectations of league coaches, who voted the Bulls fifth in the CIAA South.

“That always helps,” Flowers said. “Having that great weapon in Jeremy Franklin makes me want to get the most out of everybody else because defenses can’t roll to his side” of the field.

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