Booneville, Miss.,--Head Coach Ricky Smither enters into his fifth year at the helm for the Northeast Mississippi Community College football program and has his team on the prowl this spring preparing for the 2012 season.

Northeast will look to get out on the gridiron beginning next week beginning on Monday, March 26 where they will start easing into full gear practice in hopes of getting 15 days of workouts.

"We are going to start on Monday and hope to get 15 hard nosed practices in and see who is still standing," explained Smither.

Being hard nose and implementing hard work is something Coach Smither knows all about after four years of building what's now a solid program at Northeast.

In 2008, the Tigers were winless in Smither's first tour, but in 2009 Northeast picked up two victories finishing 2-7 on the season. However, the third time was the charm for Smither in 2010 when he led his squad to a record of 5-4 and finished tied for the runner-up spot in the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division and just barely missed post season play.

But in 2011, Smither only added to his accomplishments by leading the Tigers to another winning season, finishing 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the MACJC's North Division, and also to a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) ranking of nineteenth in the country. 

That performance was good enough for a second place finish in the North behind East Mississippi Community College—who won the state and national championships in 2011. 

Northeast fell in the first round of the playoffs to Mississippi Gulf Coast (who would lose to East Mississippi in the state championship game) 17-14 in overtime in Perkinston.

For more information about Northeast football you can contact Smither by email at resmither@nemcc.edu or by phone by calling 662-720-7890.