Get physical: JC Smith’s Bobby T Smith runs with attitude

DONALD WATKINS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

J.C. Smith running back Bobby T. Smith (14) runs past Shaw defenders in the Golden Bulls’ 52-0 win against Shaw on Oct. 18, 2025 at Durham County Stadium. Smith, a redshirt freshman, is third in rushing yards among CIAA runners with 532 with five touchdowns on 110 carries.

Bobby T. Smith runs with authority.

Trailing nationally ranked Valdosta State 10-0 in the second quarter, the J.C. Smith tailback was hit behind the line of scrimmage by Blazers linebacker Tyler Morehead on third-and-1 at the Blazers’ 28. Instead of going down for a loss, Smith powered through for a 4-yard gain and a fresh set of downs. The Golden Bulls scored four plays later and rallied to a 28-16 win.

A redshirt freshman, Smith paced JCSU with 98 yards on 19 carries, including a 58-yard gallop that led to a game-clinching 13-yard touchdown pass from Kelvin Durham  to Reggie Daniel in the fourth.

“I am a very physical person,” Smith said. “It’s football. A lot of the guys will tell you that I love physicality. That’s my main focus, really.”

That fourth-down play justified the decision to make Smith, a redshirt freshman, the starter.

“We go back to that Valdosta State game at a very big turning point,” Golden Bulls coach Maurice Flowers said. “They had a linebacker that was a Georgia Tech transfer, and it was a big third-and-1 and a lineman missed an assignment. He met Bobby T. 3 yards in the backfield, and Bobby T. got rid of him … on that carry. That was the changing point of that ball game. We kept that drive alive, went on the score, never looked back.”

Smith, who is third among CIAA players in rushing yards (532) on 110 carries with five touchdowns, certainly isn’t. Flowers prefers rotating runners, and Smith gets the majority for JCSU (6-1, 3-1), which plays Winston-Salem State at McGirt Field Saturday. He seized the starting job in preseason drills from a couple of more experienced teammates who shared carries on last year’s 8-2 squad.

“He won the starting job in training camp,” Flowers said. “He beat out UNC transfer Kamarro Edmonds. He beat out Avante George. We believe in competition every day and … he beat those guys out. Then, both of them have gotten hurt. But Bobby T. did win the job. He’s going to be modest. He wasn’t going to tell you that. I’ll tell you; Bobby T. beat them older guys out.”

Brown credits Edmonds and George with pushing him to become a more complete back who is a receiving threat (seven receptions, 77 yards and a score) when called upon.

“My older guys, those two, they drive me so much,” Smith said. “Because of them, I’m very productive. They help me do a lot of the things, they taught me a lot since I’ve been here and I respect them. I appreciate them for that. And like coach talks about production, I’ve got to produce every play, or I could lose my spot, too. That’s what drives me to perform.”

Part of what makes Smith, who is 5-10, 210 pounds, effective is physicality. As a competitive weightlifter at Boynton Beach (Fla.) High, he uses a combination of strength and leverage to his advantage.

“He was a power lifter in high school,” Flowers said. “As a junior, I think he was runner up in the state in bench, power lifting, squat. So, this physicality that he has, he's had it. It's natural for him.”

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