The Cedric Thomas era officially gets going Thursday as Mississippi Delta Community College heads to Poplarville to take on Pearl River in its 2021 season opener.
It’s opening night for most of the teams in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference.
Thomas served as the defensive backs coach at Southern Mississippi in 2020. He is an MDCC alum (graduated in 1998) and was on the Trojans staff from 2003-04 and 2007-11.
“These young men are working hard and are learning from the past,” said Thomas, who inherits a team that went 0-4 in the COVID-19-shortened season. “We have six guys back on defense and five or six on offense from last season. They are learning to process info so much better.
“We’ve got some new kids and some holdovers from the past year. One of the things we are trying to do here is change the culture. We want the kids to understand they need to not only be good on the football field but in life as well. We want them in class and learning to be respectful on and off the field.”
The Trojans will look at Jackson State transfer Jalon Jones at quarterback to lead an offense that struggled to score last season, only averaging 12.8 points per game. Jones is a 6-foot-4 sophomore. He is backed up by freshman Justin Hudson (6-2, 215) from New Orleans.
Defensively, MDCC must see improvement after allowing 31.8 points per game. Two former Greenwood-area players are part of the defensive unit this season in sophomore tackle Malik Sanders (6-2, 310) and freshman linebacker La’Andre Pittman (5-10, 190).
Pearl River is coming off a 2-4 campaign last season in Seth Smith’s first season on the job. The Wildcats return nine starters on offense, led by wide receivers Tavion Smith and Latreal Jones and running back Chris Holifield. South Alabama transfer Tony Brown is expected to make an impact in the backfield. Brown was the Mississippi Football Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018. Coahoma Community College transfer Bryce Wallace is in a battle for the quarterback job.
Defensively, the Wildcats have just five starters back, led by linebacker Noah Mitchell (83 tackles, two interceptions last year). Defensive tackle Jaylen Glaude will lead up front, while Luther Woullard returns at defensive back to lead the secondary.
Thomas has assembled a new staff with young and veteran coaches mixed in together. One of the most recent hires is Karl Morgan, a former head coach at Mississippi Valley State. Also, former Greenwood High and MVSU standout Booker T. Chambers is on staff.
“He knows Greenwood, and he knows the kids in the area,” Thomas said of Chambers. “He’s stayed humble to the area. It’s a blessing to have him on staff.”
- Contact Calvin Stevens at 662-581-7234 or cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
