One of the biggest free agents in HBCU football is headed to Charlotte. Armone Harris, a dynamic wide receiver from Tampa, Florida, has officially committed to Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) football, joining a reloaded Golden Bulls roster that’s out for redemption in 2025.
Harris, one of the top free agent transfers in the portal, received offers from FCS HBCUs, including Jackson State, Alabama A&M, and Alabama State. But after a record-breaking season at Clark Atlanta and a highlight-filled career at Allen University. Armone Harris is teaming up with former Fort Valley State quarterback Kelvin Durham in what could be the most explosive offenses in Division II football this fall.
Another bold step forward for a JCSU program that fell short of glory in 2024—and now looks ready to finish what it started.
For eight weeks in 2024, JCSU football was the story in HBCU sports. Not just because of wins, but because of the way they won, the way they looked doing it, and the way fans fell in love with them in real time through HBCU Gameday’s raw, behind-the-scenes docuseries, Brick x Brick with JCSU Football.
They were the hottest HBCU in the nation—undefeated at 8-0, ranked in the Division II polls, and even earning a few spotlight segments on ESPN’s College Gameday.
But just as quickly as they climbed, the fall hit harder.
In back-to-back heartbreakers, the Golden Bulls’ dreams came crashing down. First, a crushing loss to CIAA powerhouse Fayetteville State in Charlotte—physical, methodical, merciless. Then, in a bitter rivalry game, they fell to Livingstone College, the Blue Bears ripping away not just bragging rights but a CIAA Championship Game berth and an NCAA Division II playoff appearance. Just like that, JCSU’s season went from a dream to a documentary ending in tears.
Now in 2025, JCSU is reloading, not rebuilding—and they’ve got a brand-new weapon.
Enter Armone Harris, one of the most electric wide receivers in HBCU football, transferring in from Clark Atlanta University. The Tampa, Florida native isn’t just a stat sheet stuffer—he’s a game-changer, and the latest chess piece in head coach Maurice Flowers’ master plan.
Flowers, heading into year four at the helm, has stacked the deck with his first full recruiting class and a wave of senior transfers hungry for redemption. The Golden Bulls are locked in on a single goal: finish what they started.
Leading the transfer charge in Charlotte is former Fort Valley State quarterback Kelvin Durham, one of the top DII signal-callers in the nation. Durham, who played under Flowers when he was at FVSU, brings a live arm, quick feet, and even quicker decision-making. Over his career, Durham has thrown for almost 6,000 yards and over 50 touchdowns. But more than numbers, Durham brings pedigree and poise—and he didn’t come to Charlotte alone.
Durham helped lure Harris to JCSU. Ironically, the talent of these former SIAC playmakers has already been featured in an HBCU Gameday Original.
The 2023 HBCU Gameday feature titled “Contender” was focused on Kelvin Durham’s FVSU squad facing off against an upstart Allen University team hungry to prove they belonged with the best in the conference.
Contender – FVSU vs Allen – 2023
Durham threw for five touchdowns. Harris, then at Allen, torched defenders for six catches, a touchdown, and over 85 receiving yards in a shootout thriller. Now, two years later, both will make their debut on Brick x Brick as JCSU Golden Bulls.
That wasn’t the end of Harris’s rise.
When Allen head coach Teddy Keaton took the reins at Clark Atlanta in 2024, Armone Harris followed, promptly rewriting the Panthers’ record books. In just one season, he set school records in receptions (75), receiving yards (1,004), and touchdowns (14), leading CAU to an SIAC Championship Game appearance in Keaton’s first year.
Now, he brings that explosiveness to a JCSU offense that suddenly looks like a juggernaut.
JCSU football’s 2025 reload isn’t just about flashy new arrivals. It’s got some serious firepower coming back from last year, too. Brevin Caldwell, one of the most consistent and decorated wideouts in HBCU football, returns after averaging over 100 yards per game last season. Giving Durham not one, but two senior receivers with 1,000 yard seasons in 2024. In the backfield,
Kammarro Edmunds, the bruising back who led the team in with 5.7 yards per carry last year, is back to anchor the ground game. And perhaps the biggest x-factor? Quavaris Crouch, the former Tennessee star and second-team All-Big Ten linebacker at Michigan State, is finally returning to his natural collegiate position on defense after a stint at running back. With NFL-caliber athleticism and sideline-to-sideline instincts, Crouch has the potential to transform JCSU’s defense into a championship unit. And if the sneak peek we got of him at middle linebacker this spring is any indication. He will be a dominant force at the DII level.
Throw in the return of Brick x Brick—HBCU Gameday’s cinematic fly-on-the-wall series that captures it all in real time—and this year’s Golden Bulls squad won’t just be playing for wins. They’ll be playing for legacy.
The 2025 Johnson C. Smith football team isn’t sneaking up on anyone. They’ve got expectations, they’ve got an HBCU Gameday docuseries, and they’ve got the city of Charlotte behind them. The CIAA is stacked, and the scars from 2024 still sting. But this team has what the best HBCU programs are made of—talent, toughness, and togetherness.