JC Smith football sets focus on ‘a new era of excellence’

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Johnson C. Smith linebacker Benari Black paced the Golden Bulls with 10 tackles in their 21-13 win against Tuskegee in the Red Tails Classic Sept. 1 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Johnson C. Smith football isn’t going to convert skeptics after one win.  

Even after beating SIAC power Tuskegee 21-13 at the Red Tails Classic, Golden Bulls coach Maurice Flowers understands earning relevance is a process. It’ll take time – and sustained success – after decades of losing.

“What we could say in year three is that our football history at JCSU hasn’t been a stellar one, and so we expect those doubters should still be there,” said Flowers, who was hired in 2022. “They should still be there, and that’s really one of the things that I know helps to drive our coaching staff and our players. There’s no way that we have taken away those thoughts that ‘Smith is a winning program consistently now.’

“The last 40 years [averaging] 2.3 wins a year, I believe you can’t wipe that out in two years. We know that, expect it, but as [JCSU President Valerie Kinloch] says, ‘A new era of excellence.’ Football is included in that, so our job to go out and prove it on every Saturday that we have an opportunity.”

Or Sunday, in the case of the Red Tails Classic. The Golden Bulls (1-0) never trailed Tuskegee, a perennial SIAC power playing what amounted to a home game in nearby Montgomery, Alabama. They’ll face a similar maturity test Saturday at Morehouse. The Maroon Tigers are in transition with first-year coach Terence Mathis, a retired Atlanta Falcons receiver.

“When you’re a team that’s trying to establish themselves as a consistent winner, you’ve got to play well in these games,” Flowers said. “That’s what we’re going to impress upon our young men this week – you have every opportunity, every excuse, to go out and lay down – short week, long travel, don’t take our opponent seriously. We’re going to see how serious we are as a program … and what our focus is because we’re going to demand a great week of practice and we’re going to demand a good performance on Saturday.”

JCSU did enough good to beat Tuskegee. The Golden Bulls outgained the Golden Tigers 390 yards to 232 and the defense limited Tuskegee to 50 yards rushing on 29 carries and three third down conversions on 13 tries. Linebacker Benari Black led JCSU with 10 tackles.

“It is easy to see the defense picked up where they left off, which was expected,” Flowers said. “I mean, you bring back nine starters off a defense that was one of the tops in the country. That’s major. So, I was pleased with them.”

Offensively, the Golden Bulls dominated on the ground with 229 yards rushing, paced by Quavaris Crouch’s 161 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in his JCSU debut. Quarterback Darius Ocean tossed a pair of touchdown passes in his first game with the Golden Bulls while connecting on 13-of-25 attempts for 161 yards.

An area of concern was the Golden Bulls’ failure to turn a pair of scoring opportunities into points. A holding penalty wiped out a touchdown and they missed a couple of 27-yard field goal tries.

“Offensively, I thought we were better than we had been in the past,” Flowers said, “but still very inconsistent. We left a lot of points out there … but if you look at the game, we controlled the game. Never trailed and had several opportunities to go up two scores and didn’t. So, another place where there’s another area for growth in the program is that when you have a chance to put a good team away, you put them away.”

One game doesn’t make a season, but JCSU is in a place where expectations are rising, especially after taking down Tuskegee, the winningest Black college program of all time. The key is stacking successes at every opportunity.

“Every win’s a big win, so we’re definitely not at that point where it’s just a win,” Flowers said. “Not at all. This one’s just very special in the fact that they just don’t invite anybody to play in the Red Tails Classic. To be invited to play, that was big, and just shows that our program [is] going in a different direction.”

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