Parker McQuarrie named JCSU season-opening QB

HERBERT L. WHITE | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Parker McQuarrie, a junior transfer who spent two years at UCLA, has been named Johnson C. Smith's starting quarterback.

Parker McQuarrie is Johnson C. Smith’s opening day quarterback. 

McQuarrie, a junior transfer from New Haven beat out a pair of transfers in Damien Mazil (Wagner) and Josh Jackson (Central Connecticut State), a decision Golden Bulls coach Maurice Flowers made ahead of his self-imposed Aug. 18 deadline. McQuarrie’s grasp of the offense and execution during preseason camp stood out in a crowded group of contenders. 

“[It’s] his consistency with everything,” Flowers said. “It’s not that Damien wasn't consistent, but with Parker, some of the things that he was doing, he was taking things immediately from the meeting room to the field and making checks and things like that. We just felt it was better to do it right now, rather than to wait. Now we can start just gaining some continuity with the first team, knowing who’s going with them all the time.” 

The Golden Bulls, ranked No. 8 in the preseason boxtorow.com preseason Black college poll, open August. 29 at Benedict.

McQuarrie, a four-star recruit at St. Paul’s High in Weare, New Hampshire in 2020, spent two years at UCLA without playing. The 6-7, 235-pounder completed 19-of-47 passes (40.4%) at Independence (Kansas) Community College in 2022 before a couple of seasons as a backup at New Haven, a Division I FCS program. Although McQuarrie’s playing time is limited, Flowers believes he can succeed at Division II Smith, which won the CIAA title and earned a berth in the national playoffs with a school-record 10-2 campaign. 

“What we say is if you’ve got a quarterback, you’ve got a shot,” Flowers said. “The last two years we’ve had an All-CIAA quarterback in ‘24, All-CIAA quarterback in ’25. Even with the strength we have in the offensive line and the running back position, we have a really good corps of receivers also, and we’ve got to get them to play good football to keep teams from stacking the box and things like that. Just keeping us able to play balanced football, we need a quarterback that could make sure that we do that.” 

As part of his research on McQuarrie, Flowers reached out to Pep Hamilton, a West Charlotte High graduate and former Michigan associate head coach and passing game coordinator who recruited McQuarrie. Although Michigan lost out to UCLA, Hamilton, who has been an offensive coordinator at FBS programs as well as NFL teams, praised McQuarry’s physical attributes and footwork. 

“He’s definitely not going to be called a dual threat quarterback, but he has really good athleticism,” Flowers said. “When we were with Parker and started communicating, the first thing I did, we talked to Pep, and Pep said the thing he found with Parker when they were recruiting was he was a much better athlete than they thought. Yes, he is a pocket passer. He’s 6-7, 235 pounds, but he does move well. 

“Our plan is not to use him as a runner very much.”  
Or an every-down passer. With four offensive line starters returning – including three preseason All-CIAA picks – along with 2025 all-conference receiver Brian Lane and 1,000-yard tailback Bobby Smith, Flowers expects to dictate tempo with a balanced attack that racked up a school record 33.5 points per game in 2025. When the situation calls, McQuarrie has the arm strength to stretch defenses vertically or squeeze passes into tight windows. 

“As I as I look at it, we’re not looking for a quarterback to come in and [throw] the ball 40 to 50 times,” Flowers said. “The biggest thing is the quarterbacks that came in, Parker and Damian, and [third stringer] Josh Jackson, they were introduced to their new best friends – that’s a good defense and a good running game – so when you have those things, you don’t have to have a lot of pressure on you.” 

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