It's no secret that the Johnson C. Smith football program has had trouble gaining traction.
Coach Steve Aycock is intent on giving his team solid footing.
The Golden Bulls (2-2, 1-0 CIAA) will be homecoming opponents again when they play the undefeated Winston-Salem State Rams at 1:30 Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Aycock and his team won't shy away from the challenge.
"We are used to being homecoming bait," said Aycock, a former Golden Bulls assistant now in his third season as the head coach. "Next week, we are Shaw's homecoming game, so it's nothing new to us."
What is new is that the Bulls are starting to turn the corner. They already have two victories, matching their win total of last season (2-8). They were 3-7 in 2009, Aycock's first season.
The Golden Bulls opened with a 64-27 victory against West Virginia State, lost to Brevard 38-35 in overtime, then rebounded nicely with a 14-7 win against Virginia State, the CIAA's Northern Division champion last season. Smith lost 35-7 to Davidson last week, but Aycock said he's encouraged by what he has seen so far.
"We had a good win against Virginia State, and that was exciting and we are trying to keep a good thing going," Aycock said. "We just haven't been consistent during our two losses, and that's something we have to correct."
The Bulls average 30 points a game and allow 26.8. They'll go against a Rams team that is 4-0 and averages 50 points.
Aycock said one reason the Bulls are gaining more respect is better recruiting. Part of that can be attributed to the addition of Mike Minter, who spent his 10-year NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, as the assistant head coach.
"He just brings a great knowledge of the game and has great experience," Aycock said of Minter, formerly a prep head coach at Concord First Assembly. "He enjoys teaching the game and has helped as our special teams' coordinator."
Quarterback Keahn Wallace leads the Bulls' offense and already has thrown for 1,021 yards. He has completed 55.9 percent (71 of 127) and has nine touchdown passes and six interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 258 yards on 65 carries.
Adding to the attack is running back Dedrick Anderson, a 5-foot-4, 150-pound junior from West Forsyth High School, who has 257 yards on 41 carries and two touchdowns.
"We've talked to Dedrick about him coming back home to play, and he's excited," Aycock said. "But we also told him that we have a job to do and that's to try and win a ballgame on the road.
"He's our workhorse. Even though he's not that big, he's a diesel and has been doing pretty well for us. I know his high school coach (Adrian Snow) is excited that we are coming to play in Winston-Salem."
Aycock said he hopes to keep building depth. He said he has about 25 scholarships to work with and was limited to 75 players when preseason camp opened in August.
"We are a little banged up right now, that's what happens in this game, but we are going in the right direction," he said.
The Bulls have lost 10 straight to the Rams, including last season, 49-3 in Charlotte.
The Bulls haven't had much success in the CIAA since the 1970s and have been above .500 just four times since 1977, the last time when they were 7-4 in 2006.
But, Aycock said, "the culture is changing, and it's something we've worked hard on since I've been here."
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