The HBCU Gameday cameras were rolling inside the Golden Bulls’ locker room for their “Brick x Brick” docuseries. It captured the usual pregame ritual with music thumping, players getting hyped, and Coach Maurice Flowers about to deliver his speech. But then someone walked through that door who had absolutely no business being there, at least on paper. The energy in the room shifted to something nobody saw coming. 

Luke Kuechly, the Carolina Panthers legend and future NFL Hall of Famer, showed up to JCSU’s locker room before their matchup against Winston-Salem State. The optics of this are wild in the best way possible. A white NFL icon rolling into an HBCU locker room in Charlotte and getting embraced like family. 

He arrived with Red Ventures CEO Ric Elias, who’s been a longtime JCSU supporter and has appeared on Brick x Brick talking to players about leadership. When the team started hitting their “LUUUKE” chant, the same one Panthers fans used to roar at Bank of America Stadium, you could feel the crossover energy between Charlotte’s NFL legacy and its HBCU football resurgence.​

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The moment was pure gold for Brick x Brick’s cameras, which caught Luke Kuechly exchanging fist bumps with players as they poured out of the locker room. He then followed them to watch from the end zone. The best linebacker of his generation stood on the sideline taking selfies with fans, nodding his head to the HBCU marching bands, and watching every snap like he was scouting talent. Early in the game, JCSU’s defense made two huge red-zone stops, both right in front of where Luke Kuechly was standing. 

“Luke Kuechly is a football guy,” Coach Flowers said postgame. “He always wants to be around the game. Watching him see our guys compete, that felt good.” The Golden Bulls went on to demolish Winston-Salem State 52-27. Quarterback Kelvin Durham threw for 351 yards and five total touchdowns. And JCSU improved to 7-1 and kept its CIAA championship hopes alive.​

What makes this moment so compelling is what it represents for HBCU football thriving in a major city. Charlotte is a pro sports town, but when an HBCU program like JCSU builds real momentum, going 8-0 last season and attracting ESPN College GameDay attention, it shifts the entire city’s energy.

Last season’s run turned JCSU into a national story, and now, sitting at 7-1 with a massive matchup against Fayetteville State coming up on November 1st that will determine both conference and Division II playoff futures, the program is cementing itself as a legitimate force. Under Flowers’ leadership, the Golden Bulls have built a foundation of accountability and swagger that’s got the whole city buzzing.​

What Luke Kuechly’s visit meant to JCSU

After watching Luke Kuechly soak in the pregame energy, Coach Maurice Flowers couldn’t hide what the moment represented. “When our team hit that ‘LUUUKE,’ you just felt it,” Flowers said postgame, referring to the iconic Panthers chant that erupted when Kuechly walked into the locker room. “It felt good to see our young men earn respect from the football world.” That word, respect, kept coming up in Flowers’ postgame comments, and for good reason. 

This was an NFL legend who genuinely wanted to be there. He stood through the pregame prayer and watched JCSU’s defense make two red-zone stops right in front of him like he was scouting his own team. Flowers recognized that distinction immediately. And you could hear it in his voice when he talked about what it meant for his players to have that kind of validation.​

Flowers also picked up on something crucial about Kuechly’s presence. “Luke Kuechly is a football guy,” the coach explained. “He always wants to be around the game. Watching him see our guys compete—that felt good. It says a lot about our young men,” Flowers added. 

And that’s really what Saturday was about. A Charlotte legend tapping into what JCSU has built, recognizing that the Golden Bulls at 7-1 are a program that’s earned its place in the city’s football conversation. Flowers has been preaching “not done yet” all season, and moments like Kuechly’s visit prove the city is listening.​