Darius Ocean makes a splash as JCSU’s offensive leader

DONALD WATKINS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Darius Ocean, a Hough High alumnus, has flourished at Johnson C. Smith, where he is 6-0 as the Golden Bulls' starting quarterback and on track to set a new school record for passing yards..

All Darius Ocean wanted was a chance to succeed at quarterback.

He is making the most of his opportunity at Johnson C. Smith, which is off to a school-best 7-0 record going into Saturday’s CIAA game at Winston-Salem State. Ocean, a Hough High graduate, is a major reason for the Golden Bulls’ success after languishing as a backup at Western Kentucky and Valdosta State. Ocean, who is 6-0 as a starter (Cam Kromah started against Virginia State), has completed 115-of-192 passes (59.9%) for 1,703 yards and 15 touchdowns against one interception.

“Being 6-0 as a starter, I think that just comes from my coaches and my teammates,” Ocean said. “Just them trusting in me and me trusting in them.”

It didn’t take long for Ocean to earn that trust. He won the starter’s role in preseason camp and backed it up by tossing a pair of touchdowns in a 21-13 win against Tuskegee in the Red Tails Classic. From there, he’s gotten better as his command of the offense and accuracy improved.   

“The work that me and my teammates put in over the summer that definitely has been a big thing,” Ocean said. “And then just watching film has been very has been a very important thing to me this year, just to make sure I know when I go out there nothing surprises me, really.”

Ocean’s arrival was the missing piece for JCSU, which went 7-4 last year and returned the entire offensive line in addition to leading receiver Brevin Caldwell. While the addition of five-star running back Quavaris Crouch via the transfer portal generated headlines, quarterback was an uncertainty.

“We wanted an older quarterback,” Golden Bulls coach Maurice Flowers said. “Our first year we had some freshmen quarterbacks to back up Tyrell Jackson, and we had another upper classman here. And then when Tyrell was injured, we were forced to go with freshmen and freshmen, they have to grow.

“Going into year three, we said we’re going to go get us some veterans that we know can grasp everything. Darius was in the portal, and still a fine quarterback.”

And hungry. Ocean had his moments to shine at Western Kentucky as a redshirt freshman, where he completed 7-of-12 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns in 2022, including three completions for 52 yards and a score against Charlotte. He transferred to Division II Valdosta but was again limited to backup status. Flowers convinced Ocean he would have a chance to build Smith’s football reputation.

“When I had my visit here, I just loved what Coach Flo was just talking about, and then you can see the progression of the team,” Ocean said. “When he first got here, they weren’t that good and you can see the second year, they got a better record. You can see everything was just like the way he put it to me. I could just see the vision that he had.”

Said Flowers: “He really just wanted his opportunity to compete. He's an accurate quarterback. You listen to some of the things he said about how much film he’s watching. Once you have a grasp of this system, you can go play mechanically and fundamentally sound, just go be who you are.”

Ocean has delivered in Flowers’ offense, which balances a downhill rushing attack led by Crouch and efficient passing. Ocean is on track to smash Ryan Carter’s single-season passing yards mark of 2,129 set in 2012 and his 15:2 touchdown to interception ratio is the CIAA’s best.

“It’s tough to play quarterback here because I’m going to be on you,” said Flowers, who was Carter’s offensive coordinator and position coach during his record-setting season. “This offense and this team go how the quarterback goes, and if you want that responsibility, then let's go compete for it. [Ocean’s] done that, and I’ve been very pleased with him, and just happy with the work that he’s made.”

This article corrects the holder of Johnson C. Smith’s single-season passing yards record as well as the season and number of yards.

Comments