PHOTO BY LISA EARLS Seniors Cotton Westbrook and Austin Johnson, two stalwarts of the Wesson defense, announced their plans to play for the Copiah-Lincoln CC Wolves on Wednesday. Seated with Westbrook are his parents Sara and Chase Westbrook. Standing, from left, are Wesson assistant coaches Hank Jordan, Steve Barrington, Josh Garrett, head Wesson coach Jeremy Loy, and assistant coach Ryan Neely. Westbrook has been named All-Region and Daily Leader All-Area three times during his career, where he was always one of the leading tacklers on the team for the Cobras as a linebacker. The 5-foot-9, 205-pound Westbrook made a team high 97 tackles for Wesson as a senior in 2024.

PHOTO BY LISA EARLS Seniors Cotton Westbrook and Austin Johnson, two stalwarts of the Wesson defense, announced their plans to play for the Copiah-Lincoln CC Wolves on Wednesday. Seated with Johnson are his mother Verneka Johnson and Loy. Standing from left are Jordan, Barrington, Garrett, and Neely. Johnson is the son of Co-Lin assistant coach Maurice Johnson. Maurice Johnson was an All-American linebacker at CLCC during his playing career and then later went on to finish his career at Florida A&M. Austin Johnson made 36 tackles in 2024 for Wesson, including 4.5 tackles for a loss. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Johnson was also in on 2.5 sacks this season while splitting time at tight end and earning All-District honors.