 |
| PHOTO | CURTIS WILSON |
| Tyreik Leach, who rushed for 419 yards and two scores final 12 months as a freshman, returns at tailback for Johnson C. Smith, which went 1-7 final 12 months. |
The Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls who broke spring drills aren’t the identical group that confirmed up for fall camp.
For starters, there’s extra of them – 110 to be actual. They’re youthful and hungry to vary the narrative of a perennial loser, which coach Maurice Flowers insists begins with an emphasis on physicality.
“As I replicate again, I see the place we’re making nice progress,” he mentioned. “Our younger males are attacking the method. We all know that we’re not going to get in form in a single or two days. We all know that it’s going to be a course of to study the playbook. What we don’t lack is vitality.”
It helped that just about 60 gamers – together with 45 freshmen – had been in summer time college to acclimate themselves to teachers and soccer forward of preseason drills.
“That’s why the summer time was so large for us, only a head begin,” mentioned quarterback Tyrell Jackson, a Fort Valley State switch. “So, in fall camp, it’s not like a instructor stage or redressing the identical web page. They’d me and the veterans to show when the coaches aren’t.”
Flowers isn’t prepared to call an official starter at quarterback every week into camp, leaving Jackson, a junior, and senior Malik Evans to compete for the starter’s job. Jackson, who went 7-3 as Flowers’ beginning QB at Fort Valley, is a conventional pocket passer whereas Evans is extra cell.
“Proper now, we think about ourselves in coaching camp mode and people guys are each getting [first team] reps … as a result of it’s a true quarterback competitors,” Flowers mentioned. “We’re not having one man with the primary staff and one with the second staff.”
Whereas the Golden Bulls will likely be younger throughout the roster, the starters will likely be skilled. The offensive line, which struggled with inexperience final 12 months in a 1-7 marketing campaign, returns 4 incumbents “beginning at middle with Katrel Shaw (Mallard Creek Excessive),” Flowers mentioned. “He’s very stable. Proper guard Sean Evans is without doubt one of the finest linemen within the convention. We’ve a switch who’s going to start out at proper deal with, Jamal Covington from Tennessee State, only a very technically sound man.
“Left guard Tyler McBeth cut up taking part in time final 12 months and our left deal with, I name him Mr. Regular, is Josh Coleman, who began final 12 months as a real freshman. These 5 proper there are good. We’ve received to maintain them wholesome and we’re constructing high quality depth behind them.”
The road may be settled, however there’s competitors within the backfield. The Golden Bulls return tailback Tyreik Leach, who rushed for 419 yards on 65 carries (6.4 per carry) and two touchdowns final season as a freshman, joined by Tim Newman Jr., a switch from Presbyterian and his brother Jacob, certainly one of North Carolina’s prime all-purpose threats as a senior at South Mecklenburg Excessive final 12 months.
Devon Lawrence, a switch from North Carolina who helped Wake Forest Excessive to the state 4AA title, will likely be within the combine.
“I’ll inform you the sneaky one goes to be Devon Lawrence,” Flowers mentioned. “He went to [UNC], was injured and took a fast break and mentioned he’s able to get again in it and you realize right here we go together with Johnson C. Smith getting a Division I tailback come to us.”
West Charlotte graduate and UNC Pembroke switch Bernard Black has already established himself as a key a part of a linebacker corps that features senior Jamonte Grey (North Mecklenburg) and sophomore Nate Qualls.
Black is certainly one of a number of upgrades to a unit that allowed 30.1 factors per sport in 2021.
“He’s a baller,” Flowers mentioned. “We’re simply glad to have him. He was listed as one of many prime linebackers, prime gamers within the switch portal and it simply actually speaks volumes for the route of our program to get somebody of his caliber right here.”
Per week into camp, Flowers needs to construct on momentum constructed over the spring and summer time. Turning JCSU round is a course of and with the Sept. 1 opener at Bluefield (W.Va.) State across the nook, all the pieces is magnified.
“We’ve a tradition that we’ve set in place, and we evaluation it each single day, what we name our Golden Bulls championship tradition,” he mentioned. … “I’d say our younger males are making progress on and off the sector as a result of it’s not simply on the sector the place you construct champions.”
