JC Smith’s homegrown tailback triple option approach

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Quavaris Crouch (27), who is returning to running back at Johnson C. Smith after playing linebacker at Tennessee and Michigan State, scored in the April 12 Gold-Blue game.

Johnson C. Smith has a bevy of homegrown options at running back.

Golden Bulls head coach Maurice Flowers’ goal is to rotate a trio of Charlotteans – Quavaris Crouch along with brothers Jacob and Tim Newman Jr. – to boost the running game in 2024, which averaged 116.7 yards per game last year. The results in spring drills, which wrapped last week, have been positive.

“What excites me is first, having the experience of playing multiple backs as the offensive coordinator at Fayetteville State,” Flowers said. “We had [Stevie Green], who is the all-time leading rusher at Fayetteville State. We had a lot of good backs and it all just kind of lined up. We played three and sometimes four running backs and it’s going to be the same with these guys here.”

Crouch and the Newmans will look to establish a viable rushing attack for the Golden Bulls, who went 7-4 last year – their first winning season since 2012. Tim Jr., a Myers Park High graduate, was JCSU’s top rusher with 413 yards and three touchdowns on 134 carries while Jacob (South Mecklenburg added 408 yards and two scores on 106 attempts.

“I can say this – we are really hungry,” Tim said. “Crouch has come in here and worked his butt off and earned our respect. I think the running back room got a lot better by adding him and just all of us working really hard. I think we are going to have a huge season, all of us.”

That’s what Flowers wants. By blending their skills, he wants to create mismatches that can open the offense, which averaged 259.7 yards per game last year as injuries hit the Golden Bulls’ quarterbacks.

“Tim is a strong inside and outside runner,” Flowers said. “He is great in the passing game in protection and receiving. He is just our wily veteran. He truly just does everything right.”

Younger brother Jacob returns for his junior year and while he and Tim may have different rushing styles, Flowers has been most impressed with Jacob as a change of pace.

“Jacob is our slash-and-dash guy,” Flowers said. “He is a big-time player. With him, it’s like having lightning in a bottle and he has truly had an outstanding spring and it will be really close to see who our MVP of the spring is because Jacob might have improved more than anybody on our team. That says a lot when one of your better players puts his head down and goes to work.”

Smith added Harding graduate and former five-star recruit Crouch to the roster after stints at Tennessee and Michigan State primarily as a linebacker. Crouch, who led Harding to a state championship in 2017 and has two years of eligibility, has the size (6-foot-2, 237 pounds) to run between the tackles and speed to run away from defenders.

“Man, we’ve got thunder and lightning and lightning again,” said Crouch, who ran for 3,142 yards and 31 touchdowns during Harding’s title run but played tailback sparingly before enrolling at JCSU. “We all have something we bring to the table. We try to push each other to make us all better each and every day and I am really happy to be around them.”

Said Flowers: “Just to get [Crouch] in here and see his progression every day is special. It is special seeing him go from having played linebacker at Tennessee and Michigan State to now coming back and playing the position he loves, and he feels got him to this level anyways. Some of the things he did earlier in the spring weren’t the best. In his footwork, he may have slipped on cuts but now and by the time spring is over, he is looking like he did in his senior year of high school.”

The running backs already have a sense of team chemistry and camaraderie. While they’re learning from each other, they also share the common goal of winning.

“I thank God that I have these dudes in my room and it will be a big season for all of us,” Jacob Newman said. “Every one of us can make big plays. We all may have different running styles but all of us will be getting our hands on the ball, and all of us can make a big play, so it is going to be special.”

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