Former Southwest assistant Roderick Cummings ready for head coaching gig

The Southwest Patriots’ new head coach has no trouble finding where the football field is located.

After serving as an assistant coach for three years, Southwest made the decision to appoint Roderick Cummings to take over for former head coach Joe Dupree Jr. back in February.

Cummings knows the shoes he is attempting to fill are big ones, with Dupree being a Southwest alum and also the second-winningest coach in Southwest history.

“I think Joe means the world to this place,” Cummings said.

Most coaches could be a little intimidated by this, accepting a new position and replacing a very well respected coach.  For Cummings, it’s more like an advantage.

“That was the great part about taking the job, I knew everything about it,” Cummings said. “I knew the community, I knew the people, the only thing I really had to do was come here and learn these kids.” 

In addition to knowing his way around campus and having a finger on the pulse of Southwest, Cummings also has a good relationship with administration as well. 

“The principal that’s coming back now, she was an (assistant principal) when I was over here so, administratively I think we’re going to be fine,” Cummings said.

While knowing these things and having people know your name is always a nice touch, Cummings wanted to make it clear that he wants to bring his own style to the Patriots. Defense should loom large in his coaching style, he said. Cummings had defensive coordinator roles at Central, Baldwin and Southwest respectively before a head coaching role at Twiggs County.

“I’m a little bit more of a go-getter,” Cummings said. “Coach Dupree was great as far as the relationship piece and that’s one thing I will continue to do.”

Cummings knows a lot about building relationships with players, as he described his tenures with the other teams he’s worked with. 

“What I learned about all of those places, even being here in Bibb, is that you have to build a relationship with the kids,” he said.

While having those relationships is high on Cummings’ list, he did say he was excited to take a look under the defensive hood and fine tune the details there.

Looking at the past few seasons for Southwest, defense is something that can be improved upon. 

Last season the Patriots allowed 273 points through 10 games and finished eighth in Region 2-Class A Division I.

Cummings is also tasked with finding replacements for the seniors who graduated, both in roster spots as well as leadership positions. 

“They had 26 seniors, so a lot of these kids now are the guys,” Cummings said. “I think just being able to be seen a bit more and be appreciated to the point where ‘it’s my time now,’ I think that is kind of what’s been moving the program.” 

While there are definitely a lot of opening starting positions, Cummings is already seeing some of the stars start to shine during spring workouts. 

Offensively, Cummings named Ajavion Wilson, a junior quarterback, as one of the guys he hopes to lead the offense under center. 

“It’s his team, his program, he’s the guy that’s going to be one of the leaders,” Cummings said. “He throws a great ball and is trying to do a lot more leading ability now.” 

Cummings also mentioned that Wilson will have mostly the same offensive staff from last year, so he doesn’t have to get used to a new quarterback coach. 

Alongside Wilson on the offensive side of the ball, Cummings mentioned junior Running back Tkorian “Drop” Davis.

“He’ll have a lot of exposable ability and he is a very athletic kid,” Cummings said. 

Cummings also mentioned that even with the loss of seniors, he feels they have gained a lot more speed for this upcoming season.

Defensively, Cummings highlighted Kewon Johnson, who will be a senior for the 2026 season.

“He is probably one of the strongest kids in the building,” Cummings said. “He’s a good leader and definitely going to be able to make an impact on Fridays for us.” 

Justin Humphrey could also be a defensive weapon for the Patriots, Cummings said. He likened Humphrey to Rinaldo Callaway, a superstar for Southwest who played last season before moving on to play football at Rutgers.

“We’re going to put him in kind of the same position that they had Calloway playing last year,” Cummings said. “We hope he can make those same plays.” 

Every new coach’s dream is to go undefeated in their inaugural season. While that’s certainly a tough ask, Cummings knows it’s a process to the top and that’s where he has his sights set. 

“We know we’re going to take it one game at a time, we know we got to be able to work and we got to improve,” Cummings said. “I definitely think we’re in a position for what we have done so far to be better than where we were last year.” 

Cummings and his Southwest Patriots will have the chance to put all of these factors to the test in August when they play Howard for their season opener. 

“I think Macon is my home and it’s my community,” Cummings said. “I’m just happy to be back and to build service to this community.”