Central Georgia carousel: Cummings returns to take over football at Southwest

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          A little more than a month after it was created, Southwest has filled its head football coaching vacancy.

          And the new Patriots knows his way around campus and town.

          Former Southwest assistant Roderick Cummings was approved Thursday night by the Bibb County Board of Education to replace Joseph Dupree, who resigned last month for the job at McDonough.

          Cummings comes from nearby, going 2-18 in two seasons at Twiggs County, including 0-10 in 2025, the Cobras’ fifth winless season since 2011.

          The 2004 Westside graduate played at Albany State, and took over in Jeffersonville after serving as the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Baldwin following a stint at Southwest.

          Spoon Risper was approved on Feb. 10 as the new Macon County head coach after resigning – in the late spring, effective at the end of the 2025 seasons – at Westside.

          Westside announced longtime Seminoles assistant James Harris three weeks ago as Risper’s successor.

          Now, Twiggs County joins Mount de Sales, Wilkinson County, Central Fellowship, Jasper County as Central Georgia programs with openings.

          There will also be new head coaches in 2026 at Central and Washington County, who have also filled openings.

          Former Central head coach Jarrett Laws was hired last week as the new head coach at Morrow, and ex-Washington County head coach Robert Edwards is joining his college alma mater at Georgia as an offensive analyst.