JCSU football opens preseason with national aspirations 

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Johnson C. Smith receiver Reggie Daniel, who scored six touchdowns on 18 receptions in 2025, returns to a stacked corps that includes All-CIAA Brian Lane and Reggie Brigman and UNC Pembroke transfer JaQuan Albright, who caught 64 passes for 895 yards and five touchdowns last year with the Braves.

There’s no looking back at the best season in Johnson C. Smith football history. 

The Golden Bulls, who went 10-2 in 2025 – the program’s first campaign with double-digit wins – won the CIAA title for the first time since 1969 and earned a berth in the Division II playoffs for the first time. They also finished the season nationally ranked for the first time at No. 18. 

The goal in 2026 is to improve, which means becoming a national contender.

“You have to finish,” All-CIAA linebacker Vincent Hill said in April. “It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish and right now, we’re just trying to build up our roster, get everybody on the same accord, getting that chemistry and that camaraderie right. It’s really a big factor that I think helped us in the fall last year.” 

There are major changes on the roster with more than 30 players graduated or transferred, but an experienced core is still intact. The offense returns five preseason All-CIAA picks, including three linemen. Hill is the captain of a defense that was among the nation’s best in 2025 – ranked eighth nationally in fewest points allowed at 17.25 per game and 21st in total defense (304.3 yards). 

“It’s great to have expectations,” coach Maurice Flowers said. “That means that you’ve done some good things, and our young men know it. We just don’t talk about it a lot. It’s just known that we want to play football at a high level, and … it really goes to the growth of the program.”

With preseason camp underway, here’s what to watch for in the days leading to the Aug. 29 opener at Benedict:

Spoils of winning

CIAA coaches bestowed recognition on the Golden Bulls as individuals, naming six to the preseason all-conference team. 

The offensive line earned high praise with Jamari Mason, Marcus Andrews and Robert Early named to the unit. Running back Bobby Smith and receiver Brian Lane were among the skill position players lauded and Hill earned a spot on the defensive team. Smith, Hill, Mason and Lane are holdovers from the 2025 all-conference squad.

New voices on the sideline

With winning comes change, even to the coaching staff.

Adjustments are necessary on the defensive side, where linebackers coach David Bowser earned a promotion to head coach at Albany State while defensive line coach Kevon Fly departed for the top job at Memphis East High in Tennessee. Former Winston-Salem coach Robert Massey, a Garinger High graduate who played cornerback in the NFL, steps in. 

The biggest news on defense, though, is the retention of coordinator Barry Tripp, who was a finalist for the top job at Winston-Salem State. His presence maintains consistency for a unit in the midst of transition in the secondary.

“We’re just taking on the mindset of we’re not rebuilding, we’re reloading,” Hill said. “It’s not necessarily where we have to get things together, it’s just about reloading the gun. Coach Tripp has that standard, and he doesn’t lower that standard for anybody. You get with it, or you get gone and you’re going to get with it because he’s very enthused.”

Quarterback competition

Josh Jackson left spring drills as the clear-cut starter, but will that hold true on opening day?

Parker McQuarrie, a transfer from New Haven (Conn.) who spent two years at UCLA, was signed in May to add a fresh layer of intrigue over who will succeed All-CIAA Kelvin Durham, who set JCSU records for passing yards and touchdowns in his lone season on Beatties Ford Road. 

Jackson and McQuarrie have thin college résumés, but Flowers has a knack for engineering success at the position. Jackson has a head start on the first team job due to his spring immersion in the offense, but Flowers believes McQuarrie is capable of a credible push. 

“I would say Josh is the leader, because he has been there and learned and went through a spring, but both of these guys are hungry, and so for me, that really covers up some of the lack of actual playing experience on a team,” Flowers said in May. “When you’ve got guys hungry to prove themselves, they’ve been at places where they did not crack the starting lineup for whatever reason, now they’ve got an opportunity with us, and that’s all you really want in life, is an opportunity to show what you’ve got.” 

No gamble after Proctor

Deandre “Biggie” Proctor emerged from modest expectation to All-CIAA receiver in 2025. His playing days are over, but JCSU is loaded at the position. Lane, who grabbed 46 passes for 676 yards and five touchdowns to earn All-CIAA last year, returns, as does Reggie Daniel, who added six scores on 18 catches and Reggie Brigman, who caught 11 passes for 165 yards and two scores. 

The Golden Bulls added UNC Pembroke transfer JaQuan Albright, who caught 64 passes for 895 yards and five touchdowns in 2025 as a redshirt junior. 

Blending in the secondary

A couple of newcomers are pushing for starting jobs, led by cornerback Rossie Grimes a mid-year transfer from Eastern Kentucky who was All-SIAC at Tuskegee. 

Another transfer, Marque Vereen (West Florida) is making a case to play opposite Grimes. Strong safety Tynan Tucker is the lone returning starter.

Comments