Mississippi College Football Begins a New Era

Under new leadership, the Choctaws kick off the 2024-25 season in Georgia on Wednesday.

The Mississippi College football team during their 2024-2025 media day. (Photo Credit: Logan Orman)

The Choctaws are starting their season under a new head coach, Mike Kershaw, on Wednesday, September 4th. Their first game of the season is in Rome, Georgia against Shorter University.

The Choctaws started the preseason strong, with three players being named to the 2024 Preseason All-GSC Football Team. Defensive back David Brown, running back and return specialist Marcus Williams, and kicker Michael Shine all made the roster. The head coaches of the conference cast their votes to select the team. 

Thirty-one new signees, twenty-four of them coming from Mississippi, joined the Choctaw team this year.

The coaching staff has also had some major changes, most notably the addition of Head Coach Mike Kershaw. Kershaw previously coached at Rice University, where he led the team to 6-6 on the season. Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance Logan Locke also joined the staff. Locke came to Clinton after finishing his tenure instructing at the University of Southern Mississippi. 

The team also added twelve new coaches with different specialties, including former quarterback John Henry White, who is now an offensive analyst for the Choctaws.

Last year's team went 3-7 overall and 2-6 in conference play. After their inter-squad scrimmage, Kershaw said it’s the little things that are going to make the difference this year. “We were explosive on offense, we made some good plays on defense, so there’s good things there,” Kershaw said. “We’ve got to correct the little things. Those are the things that are going to get you beat.” 

Kershaw plans on making those improvements day by day. “We’re thinking about how we get our team better tomorrow,” he said. 

Williams, Jason Betz, Eli Anderson, Braxton Hall, and Tyson Keys were voted to be team captains. Kershaw describes this role as an honor and says he is proud of the men the team selected. For them and the rest of the team, Kershaw is keeping standards high. “We have to keep expecting the championship standard,” Kershaw said.

The Choctaws’ home opener is September 14th against Texas A&M-Kingsville at 6:00.