At Johnson C Smith, football spring’s for ‘winning things’

DONALD WATKINS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Quavaris Crouch (27), who led Johnson C. Smith in touchdown with nine in 2024, is switching from running back to weakside linebacker, where he was second team All-Big 10 at Michigan State. Crouch, a Harding High alumnus, replaces Benari Black, a West Charlotte grad who was CIAA defensive player of the year and Division II All-America last year.

This isn’t the season for Johnson C. Smith football to be content.

The Golden Bulls, whose 8-2 mark in 2024 equaled the school record for wins, produced 10 All-CIAA players. They also set new standards for wins to start a season eight, extended the mark for consecutive wins (10) and broke into the Division II national poll for the first time while rising as high as No. 16. Although the season ended on a sour note – JCSU didn’t qualify for the CIAA title game or the playoffs – it’s time to turn the page.

“We had so many things happen that were new to the school, the program, and things like that,” coach Maurice Flowers said last week at the start of spring drills. “It was just so good to see our young men just go through it, but at the same time, we didn’t conquer everything. We didn’t handle everything correctly. We didn’t handle all of maybe the press, maybe practices, or maybe something we didn’t handle in life, so what we’ve done is we’ve looked at ourselves. That’s the first thing – we look at ourselves. Let’s see where we get better, and let’s go get better.”

One task is finishing strong. JCSU closed 2024 with losses to Fayetteville State and Livingstone that sent them from first in the CIAA to third and out of the playoff hunt, which is an incentive in Flowers’ estimation.

“I don’t think it’s that much to get going to be energized and just excited about where we are,” he said. “I really am happy with the attitude the young men have because we ended the year on a down note, and for the guys to take it as what it was, was really just an opportunity to learn and grow from and they’ve done that.

“I’m just excited about the way that they’re approaching this with a businesslike manner. We know we have work to do. We know we have room for a lot of improvement, and even though it was a record-breaking season, there’s still a lot of things that we have left to accomplish.”

Even after consecutive seasons with at least seven wins since 1969-70, JCSU’s next step is solidifying their place as a consistent threat for the CIAA title. After decades of futility, there’s a perception the run will be short-lived, but Flowers, who is in his fourth season with the Golden Bulls embraces the challenge.

“That’s pretty much how we take it, but we’re about us, and when we worry about us, we just know that we’re focused on getting better,” he said. “We know that we didn’t finish the season right, so for us to have an opportunity to finish the season the right way we have to do the small thing starting now. It was very easy for us as a staff, and then we pointed out to the team so they could see there were areas where we could start seeing chinks in our armor.”

The Golden Bulls took to the transfer portal for upgrades at quarterback and defensive line while replenishing depth at running back and linebacker. Newcomers like quarterback Kelvin Durham (Fort Valley State), defensive end Quentin Williams (Miami, Marshall) and running back Antonio Crim (UNC Pembroke) have an opportunity to push the program forward.

There’s also returning talent like All-CIAA receiver Brevin Caldwell, who set JCSU records for catches (85) and receiving yards (1,090) as well as all-conference defensive end Lamone Hill (25 tackles, eight for loss).
“The next step for this program is let’s be better than we were last year,” Flowers said. “We know we must do certain things, so that’s pretty much the motto, or the mantra that we’ve had, is let’s do things. Let’s do winning things and let’s go take the steps that we need to be a better team in ‘25 than we were in ’24, so what does that include? It includes being better than 8-2, it includes a few other things.”

Among those changes is a remade linebacker corps, where Harding High alumnus Quavaris Crouch moves from tailback on offense to successor to All-American and CIAA Defensive Player of the Year Benari Black at weakside linebacker. Vincent Hill, an All-SIAC pick at Tuskegee, takes over for All-CIAA Jack Smith in the middle.

Crouch is “going from tailback to linebacker, and you got a guy that’s all rookie in the SEC and then second team All-Big 10 when he was at Michigan State,” Flowers said. “Just really excited for him. And Vincent Hill transferred to us from Tuskegee [where] as a freshman and sophomore, Vincent was All-SIAC second team both years and he steps in where Jack Smith played. It’s lot of talent, but now we’ve got to get that talent molded together and get some chemistry.”

The Golden Bulls have plenty of incentive to improve. After shaking up the CIAA in 2024 and rising among the best teams in the country – for a few weeks, at least – was uncharted territory. Even the late-season collapse, can be beneficial. 

“It was disappointing, but we’re going to learn from it because this program has never been in that situation before,” Flowers said. “We took it as an opportunity to learn and we’re going to get better. Now we’ve been through those things. We’ve been through the disappointment. We’ve been through being ranked in the top 25. We’ve been through being on ESPN ‘College Game Day’ three or four times. That’s never happened, so we’ve been through a lot of things that this program hasn’t had to do before. Now that we’ve had that experience, we’ll handle them better when they come up again.”

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