Golden Bulls parlay portal process for transfer class

UNC PEMBROKE ATHLETICS

Johnson C. Smith added former UNC Pembroke receiver JaQuan Albright, who caught 64 passes for 895 yards and five touchdowns as a redshirt junior last year, via transfer.

Johnson C. Smith didn’t stand still on upgrading its football roster.

The Golden Bulls, who won a school-record 10 games last year, the CIAA title and a first-ever berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs, used the transfer portal to grab reinforcements at the skill positions on offense and defensive line.

“We've gotten stronger as a ball club,” JCSU coach Maurice Flowers said. “We've hit some what we call some need areas, and we've got a couple more we're trying to get in before a drop-add [deadline for classes]. Very excited about our program, very excited about the guys that have coming back. They’ve come back with the attitude, just ready to go to work. We know nothing's going to be given to us to get a bull's eye on us, but we're just concerned about the work that we're going to put in day by day to put together a championship program.”

For the fifth straight year, Flowers recruited a quarterback from the portal in Josh Jackson, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound former Tennessee Mr. Football who spent two years at FCS program Central Connecticut State. Jackson, who has two years of eligibility, played sparingly with the Blue Devils but has the raw skills JCSU coach Maurice Flowers sought.

“We’re just glad to beat out some really good schools for him, but glad he’s on campus,” Flowers said. … “He's got two, for sure, maybe three years of eligibility, and a big dual threat quarterback that really caught our eye.”

Smith added former UNC Pembroke receiver JaQuan Albright to a corps that lost Biggie Proctor to graduation and Brevin Caldwell to FCS Norfolk State via transfer. Albright (6-0, 180) caught 64 passes for 895 yards and five touchdowns in 2025 as a redshirt junior. He also rushed for 132 yards on 22 carries. 

“We think he’s a mix of a biggie type of receiver,” Flowers said. “A big receiver, but also some shiftiness that we had with Brevin Caldwell. He can play outside, play inside. He’s got explosiveness, and we’re just extremely excited to get him.”

The top returning receivers are Brian Lane, who caught 46 passes for 676 yards and five scores last season, and Reggie Daniel (18, 345 yards, 6 TDs).

There’s more depth at running back with transfer Fabian Duncan, a North Mecklenburg High graduate who was SIAC most valuable player at Allen University after rushing for 1,301 yards and 15 touchdowns last year. Duncan will compete for carries along with All-CIAA Bobby Smith (1,030 yards, 9 TDs) and Kamarro Edmonds, who missed the last eight games in 2025 due to a leg injury.

“When you got a guy that wants to run toward competition, man, you just look forward to bringing him into the fold and really bringing a lot to your program,” Flowers said, “because those are the young men that we want. “

JCSU shopped for defense as well, adding edge Jason Romero, 6-5, 250-pounder from Laurinburg who played at East Carolina. Another signing is defensive tackle Anthony Binyard (6-2, 290), an All-CIAA pick who played on the Broncos’ 2022 conference title team as a redshirt freshman. As a sophomore in 2023, he racked up 29 tacks (15 solo) and five sacks – including a pair against Smith. He’ll likely succeed Steny Joseph, who transferred to North Carolina A&T.

“When we played Fayetteville State in 2023 at Fayetteville State, they beat us 14-7 and we had two fourth-and-1s and went for both of them. Both … were stopped by No. 8, Anthony Binyard. He was impressive on film.” 
Marque Vereen, a cornerback who played at West Florida last year, managed three tackles in five games as a junior. He’ll have an opportunity to compete for the starting spot left open by Rontay Barber’s graduation.

Nearly every program picks up transfers in the offseason, but JCSU’s approach has been to balance recruiting the portal while developing high school signees to form the roster core. It delivered a conference title and a national that rose as high as 11th last year.

“That’s also why we do not just go to the portal and get 30 guys to just say, ‘OK, we’re going to build a team,” Flowers said. “You’ve heard me rave about our coaching staff. You know that we’re good recruiters, and so in being good recruiters, you have to trust your recruiting and also your development.”

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