JC Smith football reunion ‘a blessing’ for quarterback

HERBERT L. WHITE | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Johnson C. Smith football coach Maurice Flowers and quarterback Kelvin Durham confer during practice at Eddie McGirt Field on Aug. 16 in Charlotte. Durham, who transferred from Fort Valley State, was one of Flowers’ first recruits with the Wildcats and familiar with his offensive philosophy going into his lone season as the Golden Bulls’ starter.

Kelvin Durham will finally get to play quarterback for Maurice Flowers.

Their relationship, which started five years ago at Fort Valley State, picks up at Johnson C. Smith, where the Golden Bulls are a preseason favorite to advance to the CIAA title game. Durham, an all-SIAC pick at Fort Valley State, is pleased to have opportunity.

“It’s just a blessing, really, just being able to be under coach Flowers again,” he said. “[Flowers] recruited me out of high school, [but] I didn’t get to play a season under him.  I’m just … happy to be here and just looking forward to the season.”

Durham, a standout at South Dade High in Homestead, Florida, thrived at Fort Valley State, where he earned SIAC freshman of the year in 2021 and first team all-conference in 2022. In 29 games over three seasons with the Wildcats, Durham passed for 5,922 yards and 56 touchdowns while running for six more. His best season was 2024 with a career-high 2,096 passing yards and 23 scores. FVSU went 22-11 during that span with a pair of eight-win seasons. As a sophomore, he quarterbacked the Wildcats to a win against JCSU in the Florida Beach Bowl by connecting on 10-of-14 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns to earn the MVP trophy.

“He’s a leader, and the biggest thing about him is he’s a competitor,” Flowers said. “Kelvin Durham competes. He wants to win. And I think that’s where I think we’ll see some of the best things from him is going to be on game day when he can push and show his competitive nature. But what he can do as a passer, as a runner, he’s doing it, and he brings a lot to us.” 

Durham also has the advantage of familiarity with Flowers’ offensive philosophy and scheme. While some of the terminology has changed since the Fort Valley days, most of it is a matter of acclimation. 
“Most of the things are still the same,” Durham said. “The biggest difference is he’s changed some of the signals and some of the names of the plays. The standards are still the same, but some of the plays are different, but once I see the signal, I go back to my old memory.”

At JCSU, Durham takes the reins of an offense that will put more emphasis on the pass. The Golden Bulls went 8-2 last season with Darius Ocean turning in a career year in his first collegiate campaign as a starter, passing for a school record 2,301 yards and 16 touchdowns. Flowers is giving him the tools and opportunity to match or exceed those numbers.

“We did lead the CIAA in passing last year, and had the number one passer in the conference, but we also had, for 10 games, three rushers in the top 10, so, we expect to keep that type of balance going on,” Flowers said. “We were really about 55% pass, 45% run, and the biggest change you’ll probably see is we’ll probably be about 60% pass, 40% run, just because of the quarterback skill set and our receiving corps. … 

“It’s a deeper corps than we had last year, so because of that, we’re going to adjust accordingly, and the quarterback can handle it, the offense as a whole can handle it.”

The Golden Bulls are loaded at receiver, starting with two-time All-CIAA pick Brevin Caldwell returning for his senior campaign. Caldwell, an Ardrey Kell High graduate, set school single-season records with 85 catches for 1,090 yards – the first Golden Bull to smash the 1,000-yard receiving barrier. 

JCSU added Armone Harris, who set Clark Atlanta single-season records for receptions (75), yards (1,004), and touchdowns (14) as the Panthers advanced to the SIAC title game. Deandre Proctor, who missed most of last season with an injury, returns. 

“It’s definitely been a challenge coming from a run first offense to a passing offense, but my team has been nothing but a great help for me,” Durham said. “Working on off days, getting extra work in and just trying to learn those guys and how they run routes, where they want the ball and things like that. It’s been a great experience so far.”

The expectations are greater this year, too. JCSU was picked to finish second in the CIAA behind Virginia Union in the conference coaches’ preseason poll, and there’s the motivation of missing the 2024 title game – and likely the Division II playoffs – by losing their final two contests. Durham is new to campus, but Flowers believes he can deliver.

“It’s something when you have a veteran, a veteran starter that's played in a lot of games,” Flowers said. “It’s different when that guy’s behind center.” 

Durham embraces the stakes and an opportunity to make history.

“It’s really a privilege for guys to expect great things from our program,” he said. “I think we have the players, the coaching staff. We have everything we need. We’ve just got to put everything together and get to our common goal.”

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