New Davis Era Set to Begin for Wolves

The 2024 season for the Co-Lin Wolves saw the team finish 5-4 overall, 3-3 in South Division play. The end of the season also saw the end of the tenure of Glenn Davis who retired in December while Micah Davis was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach in March. The 2025 Wolves roster features a heavy veteran presence along with an extremely talented incoming freshmen and transfer group and Coach Davis says he likes what he's seen in the early practices from his squad.

"I think on defense we are a veteran heavy group especially in the secondary. Our linebacker group also features some talented veterans, and the incoming guys have been making impacts so far," said Davis. "Lonnie Smith (Jackson) at outside linebacker and Rakeem Davis (Port Gibson) at the nose position are two of our veterans that have picked up from where they left off. Archie Chambers (New Orleans) has been doing well at one of our linebacker spots for us and we also have five returning guys in our secondary that have stood out too."

"Having these guys back on the defensive side really makes us like our odds when the season starts and all of those guys are leaders and want to do good for our team and that has been showing up in these early days of camp," added Davis. "Offensively, our offensive line is going to be a strength with returning four of our five starters from last season. I think that unit has a chance to be great, and the incoming freshmen have come in and looked impressive…this might be the strongest offensive line unit we have had in my time at Co-Lin."

"In the receiving corps, we are returning nine guys from last year and a couple of impact guys that we expect big things from are Darnell O'Quinn, Jr., (New Orleans, LA) who transferred to us from Southeastern Louisiana and Jermarj Bell, a freshman from Shelby. This group can run, and they are big," stated Davis. "Those two groups really have me excited about our chances offensively this season."

Davis also mentioned that the Wolves backfield will be very talented and that the quarterback battle has been fun to watch so far.

"We have a good competition for the quarterback spot going on right now," Davis said. "I think all three guys are great playmakers. I think we must find a little bit more consistency and allow them to distribute the ball where it needs to go and allow our guys to make plays then that will help each of them. Jaylen Pettway (Jacksonville, FL), Eli Viniard (Bassfield), and Kendal Middleton (Magee) are all about even right now and we see that each of them is having their own good days out there, but we are just looking for the most consistent one and they know that going throughout camp."

"At running back, we have Dezmond Ray (Itta Bena) who is a redshirt-sophomore with a lot of experience and has been with us for two seasons now," added Davis. "We also have a pair of transfers in Ja'Quan Bentley (Thomastown, GA) who came from West Georgia and Martavious Boswell (Fort Worth, TX) who came from Blinn Community College who can fly as well along with incoming freshman Kendarious Porter (Magee) who has done really well early in camp."

Davis said he is also excited about the kicking game and the weapon that it can be for the Wolves this season.

"Ty Jones (Summit) is an incoming freshman from North Pike and he has a tremendous leg. I am really excited about seeing what he will do for us on special teams because he has height on his extra points and field goals, can kick it four or five yards deep in the endzone on kickoffs, and on punts he has done a great job so far," said Davis.

Davis said he is looking for a fierce test out of the opponents that the Wolves will face this year despite a lot of new faces in the South Division this season.

"The Mississippi JUCO league is always tough every year and it will be competitive despite three new head coaches in the South Division including myself which means some teams will have some new wrinkles we might not have seen from them in the past," stated Davis. "I really like our team's chances this season though, and we can be pretty good as long as we stay consistent and healthy throughout the season. I know that we will be really good on defense and if our offense can match that then we have a chance for a special season."

The Wolves schedule is also a favorable factor this season with five home games including three of the first five games at home while the two road trips are to Hinds and Southwest.

"Having that many home games is always a plus because it's always good to have that home field advantage and we get to play in front of our home crowd and not having to worry about traveling while playing on the field that you're used to playing," added Davis. "It's really exciting having basically seven of our nine games be really close to home for not only our team but also the fans."

Davis said this team has a chance to have a special season, and that will come down to a few factors.

"The first one is staying disciplined throughout the season and getting the guys to do what we as coaches ask," stated Davis. "We need the leaders of this team to step up to the plate and lead this team in the right direction. I think we have a really good core group of guys that were voted on by the team as leaders and I'm excited to see how those guys will step up. I also think that we have a team full of guys that want to make plays and do good on the field and that should carry over from practice to games and that makes me excited to see what this team can do."

Davis said at the end of the season, success for his first team as a head coach is very simple.

"Obviously, wins and losses matter, but we also want these guys to grow into young adults and be successful in life," said Davis. "When our guys come here, we have several objectives which are we want to win, to graduate, and to hopefully sign with a four-year school to further their career, but in all that we also want them to grow into better young adults which will help them once their careers are over with."

The Wolves start the season at home against Coahoma on Thursday, August 28 at 6:30 p.m., at Stone Stadium in Wesson.