JCSU’s Brevin Caldwell shines as football record-holder

DONALD WATKINS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Johnson C. Smith receiver Brevin Caldwell (11) battles Shaw’s Travon Tensley for a touchdown pass in the Golden Bulls’ 21-14 win at Eddie McGirt Field on Oct. 19, 2024. Caldwell, an Ardrey Kell High alumnus, set a JCSU single-season record for receptions with 85 and receiving yards with 1,090 – making him the first Golden Bull to break the 1,000-yard mark.

Brevin Caldwell was looking for a football lifeline when Johnson C. Smith coach Maurice Flowers made his pitch.

As a receiver at Myrtle Beach Prep, Caldwell was light on college options in 2022, the year Flowers took over as Golden Bulls coach. Caldwell was undersized, but Flowers was impressed by his intelligence and determination.

“He was a good receiver on the field,” Flowers remembered, “but really, what made us most attracted to Brevin was really his mindset to getting better in his [grades]. A lot of times you look at a young man’s GPA and it tells you a lot about them and how they approach work and how they approach getting better. His GPA showed that he’s a hard worker off the field, and to listen to him talk every day … it wasn’t like he felt he had arrived. He just knew that he had a lot more work to do.”

Caldwell appreciated Flowers’ vision of building a program long regarded as a CIAA afterthought. Three years later, it’s worked out for both sides.

A biology major with a 3.8 grade point average, Caldwell is the most decorated receiver in JCSU history with a pair of first-team All-CIAA accolades. He set four school records in 2024 and is in position to set new marks for career receiving yards and touchdowns. Those efforts helped the Golden Bulls to a 15-6 record the last two seasons and in 2024 vaulted them as high as No. 16 in national Division II polls – a first for the program.

“It was absolutely the right decision” to sign with JCSU, said Caldwell, an Ardrey Kell High alumnus. “Coming out of prep school, I didn’t have too many options because it was COVID [-impacted], and coach Flowers gave me a shot. I feel like God opened the door for me and I jumped through it, and I’ve been blessed ever since.

“My biggest thing was being a part of the change here, because we knew the history behind Johnson C. Smith’s football team hasn't been good for a very long time, and I’m happy to say that I've been a part of that change, not only specifically football, but campus wide. There’s been change in the university.”

Caldwell has been key to JCSU’s football revolution. He established single season records last year for receptions (85), receiving yards (1,090) and yards per game (109) with a team that tied the school record for wins with eight. 

“I’ve had my moments to really look back and reflect on last season,” said Caldwell, who set the single-game receptions mark with 15 in an Oct. 19 win against Shaw. “There [were] some great ups and some great downs but just looking to improve and build on that this year.”

Caldwell’s 2024 campaign vaulted him to the top of the Golden Bulls’ relevant receiving lists. He’s first in career receptions at 189, which topped Marquis Belton’s mark of 160 set from 2003-06 and his 2,397 receiving yards are 195 short of Belton’s standard. Caldwell’s 15 scores are second to Craig Brown’s 26 set between 1998-2002.

“Since I’ve been here as a freshman, I had my eyes on a couple records here – 1,000 yards receiving probably the biggest one I had my eye on, but obviously I want to be the career holder of receiving yards,” Caldwell said. “Now, I’ve got the receptions, so that’s my biggest goal coming into ‘25.”

Flowers credits Caldwell’s determination for improvement between seasons with advancing his skills. Honing available assets – like sharpening his ability to run routes and read coverages – allow him to succeed despite being the focus of opposing defenses.

“We didn’t know he was going to be a guy that was going to have to be All-CIAA as a freshman,” Flowers said. “When he came in and we saw how he worked, it was obvious that he was special because his work ethic is different. 

“He became a guy we thought it was a slot only but then getting him here and seeing his IQ and how he understood, now you can see Brevin Caldwell able to play an outside receiver as well as slot receiver, so it enables us to go to move him all around.”

One of Caldwell’s goals is to make more big plays. He averaged 12.82 yards per catch last year, but with the addition of All-SIAC quarterback Kelvin Durham from the transfer portal and return of 6-3, 215-pound Deandre Proctor from injury, there’s the possibility of more potent results.

“Can I top it?” Caldwell asked. “We’re going to see. Schematically, we have a quarterback change from last year to this year, so obviously the offense is going to change a little bit, but I think the explosives will go up, per se. So, I’m not sure about the catches, the receptions. I’m looking to top it; I want 100 catches. I don’t think that’s ever been done here. I want to do that. But if that’s not what presents itself this upcoming season, well, the explosives are going to come up.”

Caldwell has been the constant in JCSU’s passing attack over the last three years, a span that’s included eight starting quarterbacks. Regardless of who’s throwing the ball, he’s thrived by adjusting and collaborating.
“He’s never batted an eye, never complained,” Flowers said. “He just finds the time to go put in some work in with the quarterbacks to make it work.”

Said Caldwell: “We’re a versatile group. We’re going to adapt to the changes that happen. K.D. came here in the spring, and immediately, when he touched down in January, we got to work. That’s the same thing that happened last year and the year before. It’s about building that chemistry in the hours that nobody else sees and just being able to adapt to what changes.”

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