Pearl River has ‘been a joy’ for Seth Smith. Will he deliver wins on the football field?
When Pearl River Community College hired Seth Smith as its football coach in November, the goal was to bring some badly needed energy to a proud program that hasn’t won a state championship since 2006.
During seven successful seasons as the East Central High School, Smith came up just shy of a Class 4A state title in 2017, but he was never lacking in energy or emotion.
His ability to motivate and connect with his players sparked the Hornets to a record of 53-34, reaching a level of success that hadn’t been seen at a school more known for a winning baseball team.
At Pearl River, he walks into a program that has seen plenty of success with 19 state championships — the most ever by a Mississippi junior college program.
However, the wins have dried up at the Poplarville school in recent seasons. Smith’s predecessor, Ted Egger, was 10-17 in three years. The man before Egger, David Saunders, was let go after one 2-7 season.
If PRCC is to make a turnaround under Smith like East Central did, it will come down to Smith’s ability to connect with his players, recruit South Mississippi and piece together a staff that will make his transition from high school to junior college an easy one.
So far, Smith believes the coach-player relationships he’s building at PRCC are not that different from what he experienced at East Central.
“Honestly, the interaction is no different,” he said. “They do dance a little better. They’ve got pretty good dance moves, but the interaction is no different. These are great kids and they’re very respectful. It’s been a joy. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being around these kids.”
Smith did have one recent hiccup on his staff with offensive coordinator Michael King leaving as part of a “mutual agreement” on Aug. 28.
That leaves David Chatham, a former offensive coordinator at Vancleave High School, and Smith to run the show on offense. Chatham was named PRCC’s offensive line coach back in December.
“We just have to respond like our kids have to — adapt, overcome and move forward with great attitude,” Smith said of the staff change. “The transition has been smooth because Coach Chatham is familiar with the concepts we were doing. It’s been a smooth transition up to this point.”
Ty Trahan, a former USM football player who previously served as the defensive coordinator at Picayune High School, is PRCC’s defensive coordinator.
Pearl River faces MGCCC to open season
There was no spring practice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Smith has had about seven weeks to get his team ready for Thursday’s 7 p.m. season opener against rival Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Poplarville.
Considering MGCCC is the defending national champion with plenty of impressive pieces back on the roster, Smith knows he and his team are entering a tough situation.
“We play the best team in the country right out of the gate,” Smith said. “We look at it as a great opportunity. Gulf Coast sets the standard for junior college football. We’ll leave that game knowing how far we’ve got to go to get where they are. To have a chance, we have to play hard every snap.”
The Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference, which is the only junior college conference playing games this fall, will play a shortened six-contest regular season before holding a championship game.
PRCC OFFENSE BREAKDOWN
Quarterback
St. Stanislaus product Jakob Greer, a redshirt sophomore who saw action in six games a year ago, and redshirt freshman Austin Davidson, a 6-foot-3 product of West Lauderdale, are the Wildcats’ top two options at quarterback.
Smith said both will play this season.
“The only difference is one is 6-3 and the other is 6-foot,” Smith said. “They have similar mechanics. They almost look like the same kid when you watch them play.”
Running back
Smith plans to roll in three or four running backs each game unless one player separates from the rest of the group.
Chris Holifield, a 5-10, 181-pound freshman from Mobile, and sophomore Dymarcus Griffin (5-11, 200) will be the top two options at running back. Griffin ran 79 times for 303 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Three other freshmen should see time — former East Central QB Will Young, ex-West Harrison star Llanes Dickerson and and Oak Grove product Nick Milsap.
Receiver
Three players who were on the roster a year ago — Liberty commit Stetson Moore, former QB Javo Thurman (6-4, 204) and Latreal Jones — should be featured prominently in the passing game. In that group, Jones had the most production last season with 14 catches for 245 yards and 1 TD.
Josh Sanders, a freshman from Magee, will be a first-year player who also contributes at receiver.
Offensive line
Sophomore Hayden West (6-2, 300) will be a leader on the offensive line at center. He’ll be flanked at left guard by freshman Dakota Graham and right guard by sophomore JuVonta Raymond. The left tackle will be Donavan Shields, an East Central product like Graham, and at right tackle will be freshman Jaylin Williams.
PRCC DEFENSE BREAKDOWN
Defensive line
Sophomore defensive end Jaylen Glaude, a 6-4, 265-pound Ocean Springs product, appears on his way to a breakout season after recording one sack and eight tackles a year ago.
Three freshmen are also likely to see significant playing time on the line: FCAHS product Gage Glover (6-2, 250), Picayune’s Elijah Jenkins (6-0, 238) and Petal native Coldan Carter (6-0, 250).
Linebacker
Sophomore Noah Mitchell, who had 55 tackles and three sacks last season, should serve as the centerpiece of the PRCC defense. The former Greene County star holds a Lamar offer and has been talking with other programs like Utah State.
“He’s got tremendous instincts,” Trahan said. “He’s a big ole kid and he’s really good against the run. He was about 240 when I came in here and I told him immediately I needed him to lose 20 pounds, and he did that. That will help him on his fast drops. In the scheme we run, they’ve got to help our secondary and drop in coverage.”
Sophomore Ricco Moore, a former St. Martin star who had 46 tackles last season, should also get plenty of snaps at linebacker, along with sophomore Damien Lynch. West Alabama transfer Zachary Boerner (6-1, 232) will factor into the mix.
Secondary
In Trahan’s 4-2-5 scheme, three sophomores will get plenty of time on the field at safety — Luther Woullard, Ben Johnson and Nijewel Coeman.
Redshirt freshman Jairus McFarland and sophomore Antonio Barnes will lead the way at cornerback.
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Pearl River has ‘been a joy’ for Seth Smith. Will he deliver wins on the football field?."
