TANGI TANDEM—Johnny Thomas of Kentwood, left, and Jamal Jackson of Amite combined to catch 69 passes for 1,157 yards and 11 TDs for Southwest Missis-sippi Community College in 2007 and they’re back for more in 2008. Photo by Mike Kiral

SUMMIT, Miss.—A pair of former Tangi high school rivals have now teamed up to form one of the best junior college wide receiver tandems in the country.

Johnny Thomas from Kentwood and Amite's Jamal Jackson combined to catch 69 passes for 1,157 yards and 11 touchdowns for Southwest Mississippi Community College in 2007. And with a new coordinator and more open offense this season, the two sophomores are looking to build on those numbers.

Thomas earned second team All-America honors in his first season with the Bears in 2007. He ranked first in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges with 680 yards and 10 touchdowns and was second with 46 catches.

Thomas was recently named to the preseason All-America second team, but said that is not enough.

"That's a tremendous honor, but I just have to get all the way to the top," Thomas said. "I want to be first team. I want to be the best that ever came through Southwest Mississippi. I don't want anybody to say that he slacked it, that he didn't want to do this, he didn't want to do that. I want to be the best."

Thomas worked with new coordinator David Thornton to improve the one weakness in his game — getting off the line of scrimmage.

"One thing that is going to help him tremendously is that last year, it was more throw it down the field to him and let him make the play. But his weakness was press-man," SMCC head coach Charles Anthony said. "Coach Thornton, from day one, works with him every drill and in everything he does on press-man technique.

“Now when somebody walks up in his face, he knows how to get off of him and be able to beat him. He has great hands and great concentration on the football. He has good speed and good height to be able to go up and get the football. He's got more experience and gotten stronger because he's been in the weightroom and that's going to make him better."

Thomas did not play football until his senior year of high school when his friends talked him into playing.

"I was playing park ball with them and they said, 'Hey, you're good. You need to come out here and play football. It's not going to kill you.' I just went out there and did what I had to do," Thomas said.

After Thomas failed to qualify after earning a scholarship to Grambling, he talked to one of his assistant coaches at Kentwood about SMCC.

"He was telling me how good it was, how they would throw me the football," Thomas said. "Then I talked to Coach Anthony and he told me the same thing. I just decided to come over here and give it a shot."

Since his arrival at SMCC, Thomas has become more of a student of the game, watching film and talking to Anthony and his teammates. One he has received the most help from is Jackson.

"I'm learning from him because he has been in the game longer," Thomas said of the former Warrior. "When he tells me something, like when I'm doing something wrong, I'm listening."

Jackson went to SMCC after receiving a scholarship from Arkansas Tech out of high school. On the Bears at the time were two of his former teammates at Amite — quarterback Walter Mason and linebacker Brandon Brumfield.

"I had committed to Arkansas Tech coming out of high school but I wasn't really comfortable with it down there so I called Coach Anthony and he gave me a scholarship down here to play," Jackson said. "I've just liked it here since I've come here.

“It's closer to home. My family and a lot of fans from Amite High can come see me play. It's like a 25-minute ride so they all can come see us play ball."

As a freshman, Jackson caught 23 passes for 477 yards and one touchdown. He also ranked in the top five in the MACJC in kick returns. And with Thomas garnering more attention from defenders, Jackson knows he has a chance to better those numbers.

"He's an All-America and a preseason All-America coming into this year," Jackson said. "He is going to open the game up for a lot more receivers. People are going to focus on him, doubling and tripling him and leaving other people open. But he is still going to get his yards because he's a great receiver."

Both Jackson and Thomas have already received interest from Division I schools, Jackson from Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, and Thomas from Troy, Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech.

"Those are my top three choices," Jackson said. "Most likely I'd love to go to Auburn or Mississippi State and if it came down to it, Auburn."

Thomas said he is also undecided on his future school.

"I have to await my options until the end of the season," Thomas said.

Southwest Mississippi opens the season at home against Mississippi Delta Aug. 28. The Bears are coming off a 4-5 2007 season with three of the losses coming by less than a touchdown.

"This year's team is going to be way better than last year's team," Jackson said. "We have a lot more speed and a lot more talent. We've got a lot of returning starters who have gotten bigger, faster and stronger this year. We're ready to play ball this year."

This year's SMCC squad features 10 players from Tangipahoa Parish. Joining Jackson and Thomas in the receiving corps are Jasmin Dalton and Johnell Jefferson, both from Independence. They are getting acquainted with Thornton's new offense that Anthony said is patterned after that of Auburn, Texas Tech and Kentucky.

"We feel really good about our receivers and all four are from Tangipahoa Parish," Anthony said.

Jackson said he is excited to get the chance to play with some of the guys he competed against while at Amite.

"The same people I played against, from Kentwood, Independence and Hammond and Ponchatoula, they are all here and we all get to unite this time," Jackson said. "It's a great opportunity getting to play the guys you played against in high school."

Thomas agreed that having those players on the team made the transition to college a little easier. It also gives him an opportunity to get on Jackson about their high school days, although Amite defeated Kentwood, 14-10, his senior year.

"Mostly because you want to be better than them because they are from your rival school," Thomas said. "Like Jamal. I always want to be better than him because he's from Amite. That's our rival and they beat us when I was in high school so I want to have a little revenge."