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By: Lucas Calvert
WESSON, Miss. – The Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves wrapped up the 2018 season with a 6-4 record, 5-1 in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) South Division. The impressive finish landed the Wolves with playoff bid for the first time in four years and earned head coach Glenn Davis MACJC South Division Coach of the Year honors. Davis is entering his 16th year as head coach of the Wolves, the longest-serving head coach in Co-Lin’s history and longest active MACJC head coach, and looks to build on last season’s success.
“We were a younger team last year and we have some guys that can step up and be leaders showing these freshmen what it takes to get back to the playoffs,” said Davis. “The sophomores have the ability to not only help us get where we want to go but to show our guys how we should play when we get there.”
Co-Lin’s offensive leaned more to the air attack a year ago as the Wolves threw for 1,946 yards while rushing for 1,281. The Wolves have a stellar receiver corps returning which should boost those numbers up this season. The Wolves return the No. 1 nationally-ranked JUCO wide receiver Malik Heath, the No. 2 JUCO wide receiver Kundarrius Taylor, and Antoine Robinson. The trio of talented receivers racked up 1,112 receiving yards last year, hauling down 17 touchdowns, eight by Taylor. Sophomores Daniel Wilson, Dell Thigpen, and Trent Tyre also return this season.
“We have some really good receivers coming back this year, and we have several talented incoming freshmen,” said Davis. “It’s great to see our sophomores teaching the
freshmen and giving them advice. Overall, we will be extremely talented in this area of the game.”
University of Kentucky transfer Danny Clark looks to lead the Wolves at quarterback this season.
“Danny has the ability to be a really great quarterback in this league,” said Davis. “He hasn’t played a lot of live snaps since high school, but has a good chance to be a great player.”
“Pat Johnson and Paul Hargrave, are both good smart players that will be fighting for playing time. This whole group is a lot further along than most guys their age,” Davis said.
Co-Lin lost both leading rushers from a year ago to graduation. Deion Dampier and Rico Owens will both be suiting up for the Delta State University this season. Fortunately, sophomore JJ Jernighan returns for his second year and looks to lead the backfield in 2019. As a freshman, Jernighan racked up 148 yards on 32 carries.
“We will be utilizing our backs a lot this year in order to keep defenses honest,” said Davis. “We have a solid group in the backfield that will definitely help us.”
Protecting our quarterback and paving the way for our running backs is a young, but talented, offensive line. Last season the Wolves averaged 4.0 yards per carry, which coach Davis hopes to improve on.
“We are going to be pretty deep on the offensive front, and hopefully even more talented than we were last year,” said Davis. “We hope to have a good group of 10 guys that can come in and make a difference for the team.”
Co-Lin continues to be a leader in developing talent on the defensive front, linebacker, and defensive back positions. The Wolves surrendered just four receiving touchdowns in 2018 smothering the opponent’s wide receivers. Co-Lin posted 20 sacks, 11 interceptions, 12 forced fumbles, and eight fumble recoveries in 10 games last season. With several standout sophomores returning, the Wolves look to continue to be the premier defensive program in the MACJC.
Defensive end Jordan Davis, the No. 1 overall ranked JUCO player by several preseason outlets, will anchor the defensive front. Joining Davis in the trenches are
sophomores Kason Chinnn, Sherman Mitchell, Lawilliam Holmes, Jalen Bedell, all of which look to provide leadership to incoming freshmen.
The Wolves also return Tyrus Wheat, who was third on the team as a freshman with 65 tackles. Wheat played safety last season but is listed as the No. 1 inside linebacker in the nation by several ranking bureaus. Joining Wheat at the linebacker spot are sophomores Khehlan Kennedy and R’Tavius McGee along with several incoming freshmen.
“Our entire defensive front has the ability to be as talented as ever,” said Davis. “Guys like Tyrus have a chance to be as good as any linebacker we’ve ever had, and players like Kennedy and McGee have had a great summer. We also have a lot of great looking freshmen on the roster that will be constantly fighting for playing time.”
The Wolves’ cornerbacks and safeties were impressive in 2018 and hope to build on that this season. Natrone Brooks returns for his sophomore season after posting two interceptions and leading the team with eight pass breakups last year. He will be joined by fellow sophomores Jalen Ware, Tavarian McCullum, and Jakobe Richards as well as a talented group of freshmen that look to make an immediate impact on the field.
“We have several guys that played a lot of snaps last year, and that’s huge in this league,” said Davis. “We have several incoming guys like Jemaurian Jones that can make a difference immediately. I think our secondary could be as strong as it was last year.”
On special teams, Co-Lin relies on freshman Bryce Lofton to handle the kicking and punting duties this season. Chris Rias will split time at linebacker and long snapper. The duo looks to continue Co-Lin’s history of solid special team performances.
The field at H.L. Stone Stadium underwent a change from natural grass to turf this summer. The Wolves will open the 2019 season with a pair of home games against Holmes on Thursday, August 29 and Northeast Mississippi on September 5. Kickoff time has been changed to 6:30 p.m.
“Any time you open at home is an advantage, said Davis. “It puts a little more pressure on us, but we have the new turf and our guys will be excited to take the field in front of a home crowd.”
The Wolves hit the road on Thursday, September 12 as the team travels to Poplarville to take on Pearl River at 6 p.m. Co-Lin will make the long ride to Senatobia
on Thursday, September 19, at 7 p.m. to face Northwest Mississippi. The Wolves return home on Thursday, September 26, to take on Mississippi Gulf Coast and will host East Central on Thursday, October 3. Co-Lin will travel to Raymond to face Hinds on Thursday, October 10. The Wolves will host Jones College on October 19 for homecoming. Festivities will take place all morning with the presentation of the homecoming queen and her court at 2:30 p.m. Kickoff for the game is slated for 3 p.m. The Wolves will wrap up the regular season with a trip to Summit for a meeting with rival Southwest on Saturday, October 26 at 5 p.m.
“Playoffs are always the goal, but you have to have a winning season first,” said Davis. “We can’t overlook anybody this year and play tough every game. We could’ve had a better record last year, but some youth might have held us back and we hope that we don’t let that happen this year.”