Coming off the second 10-win season in program history, the Copiah-Lincoln Wolves will begin the 2024 season tonight with a MACCC road game.

Head coach Glenn Davis begins season no. 21 in Wesson by taking his team on a long trip to Clarksdale to face the Coahoma CC Tigers for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

Coahoma is coached by former Ole Miss and NFL offensive lineman Terrence Metcalf, the father of NFL star receiver DK Metcalf.

The Wolves made a Saturday trip to Coahoma last season to play the Tigers for their homecoming, a game won 20-6 by CLCC. CCC finished 1-8 last season in Metcalf’s first season as head coach.

Last year was one for the record books at Co-Lin as the Wolves found themselves on the cusp of making the NJCAA’s four-team playoff before being beaten by a late score at East Mississippi in the MACCC state championship game. Davis and his team then went on to win a bowl game in Texas against Navarro College.

As you would expect with a 10-2 team, they had a monster signing class of former players moving to four-year schools around the country in Dec.

Where Co-Lin is most experienced in returnees for this season is at linebacker, where Brookhaven High alum Malachi Williams is one of the leaders. Williams has seen his recruitment pick up after making 33 total tackles last year along with three interceptions and four passes broken up.

Another bell-cow for the defense is sophomore linebacker Lakendrick James. A verbal commit to Mississippi State, James hails from Northside High in Shelby and will likely have plenty of friends and family watching his return to the Mississippi Delta tonight.

Sophomore running back Tray Minor is an offensive returnee with experience. Minor prepped at Natchez High and is joined on the roster by fellow Natchez High alums Mike Williams and Ca’Ron Williams. There are also two other Natchez natives on the roster in ACCS alums Edarius Green and Jordan Berry.

The Williams duo from Adams County both play wide receiver as Mike Williams started his college career at Jackson State before transferring to CLCC.

Of all the position groups on the roster, wide receiver is the one with the least returnees, but Davis has been excited in preseason camp by the potential of the young guys there. Co-Lin will be without Brookhaven Academy alum Trevor Fortenberry, a sophomore wide receiver who had a strong year last season, as he recovers from an injury.

Lawrence County alum Kannon Cato is in that group of wide receivers after making the move from playing quarterback in high school.

Throwing the ball to those young wideouts will be a Will, either sophomore Will Loy or redshirt freshman Will Prichard.

Will Loy was the backup last season after having a decorated high school career at Wesson High. When pressed into action against Southwest Mississippi last season, Loy started on the road and helped lead the Wolves to a win in Summit.

Prichard is a native of West Palm Beach, Florida who was on the roster at Arkansas State last season. Fellow Floridians on the team include freshman wide receiver Jordan Richardson (Gainesville), freshman linebacker Joe Dotson (Tampa), and freshman defensive lineman Damien Gill (Miami).

Last year was the first season for schools to be allowed up to 15 out-of-state players on a roster after the MACCC had previously limited that number to eight for many years.

Co-Lin picked up a transfer from Southeastern Louisiana in running back Deantre Jackson Jr. Jackson was known as “The Jet” when he was carrying the ball for a powerhouse Edna Karr program while prepping in New Orleans and he averaged 7.4 yards per carry last season while getting 33 carries in Hammond as a freshman.

Tre Webb is another transfer with New Orleans roots as the redshirt freshman defensive back comes to Wesson from Louisiana Tech after playing high school football at King Charter.

The roster also has two linemen from the central portion of Louisiana in Aayden Walker (Alexandria High) and Jakolby Jones (Many High). Walker plays defense and Jones was an offensive line starter on a state championship winning high school team who stayed home last year and bulked up before joining the Wolves this season.

One of the largest members of the Wolf Pack is another offensive lineman that hails from Louisiana in Lutcher native Jarmaine Mitchell. The 6-foot-8, 300-pound Mitchell prepped at St. James High and could become a big-time recruiting target with some development while in Wesson.

Freshman wide receiver Matt Mayfield is another player from Louisiana who could end up being a high-major signee one day. Mayfield played high school ball at Beau Chene and gave a verbal commitment to Mississippi State during his prep career.

The Wolves also have two Alabama natives on the 2024 roster in sophomore defensive back Brent Barnes and freshman kicker/punter Humberto Rosales. Both played high school football at McAdory High outside Birmingham.

There are also two guys from Arkansas on the team in defensive back DJ Hill-Smith and tight end Elijah Lagg. Lagg saw plenty of action last season while Hill-Smith is a transfer from East Mississippi CC who’s impressed Davis since arriving on campus.

Linebacker Fernando Washington is an experienced returnee that was limited by injuries last season. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Washington is originally from Macon, Georgia.

Another player that Davis and his staff are excited to see back at 100-percent after an injury last year is 6-foot-1, 300-pound defensive lineman Jamaal Dinkins. A gap filler up front, Dinkins went down with a year ending injury in the second game.

Dinkins prepped at Magee High and is part of a large Simpson County contingent on the roster that includes freshman wide receiver Marcus Allen (Mendenhall High), freshman defensive back Jay Ulmer (Mendenhall High), freshman linebacker Davin Chung (Mendenhall High), freshman offensive lineman Devan Drennan (Simpson Academy), freshman offensive lineman Dylan Harper (Magee High), and freshman defensive lineman Fred Dampeer (Mendenhall High).

The Wolves also have four former Hazlehurst Indians suiting up this season in Zyrian Jackson, Doug Nelson, Jatavious Jones and Jaleel Jackson.

Nelson, an impressive 6-foot-3 defensive back, is a transfer from Central Arkansas and Jackson, a returnee at cornerback, already holds offers from UT-San Antonio, Old Dominion, Western Kentucky, UL-Monroe and others.

Davis has his whole staff returning in defensive coordinator Matt Gordon, quarterbacks coach Micah Davis, offensive line coach Jacob Fleming, receivers coach Michael Thompson, defensive backs coach Darius Buck, and defensive line coach Maurice Johnson. New to the staff this year is volunteer Deltarus Thompson.

Micah Davis, Fleming and Johnson were all standout players at CLCC during their careers.

The schedule begins with back-to-back road games as Co-Lin plays at Holmes CC in Goodman next week. They’ll make their home debut on Sept. 12 by hosting Hinds in H.L. “Hook” Stone Stadium.