POPLARVILLE - Officially, football practice doesn't begin at Pearl River Community College until the first week of August. Unofficially, the Wildcats are already hard at work. Almost every afternoon, a full contingent of Wildcat players gathers on the old football field in the center of the school's main campus for a spirited round of 7-on-7 workouts.

The mood is light, the play is informal, but the players are deadly serious about their work.

"You've got to approach this football stuff like a job," said redshirt freshman linebacker Tim Rawlinson. "You've got to get out pretty early and get down to business, so you're ready when the season starts."

For PRCC, the stakes are high. The Wildcats not only want to maintain the high level of success they've achieved during the past five seasons under head coach Tim Hatten, but they think they have the tools for another national championship run.

"Every season, you want to think state championship, but the main goal is a national championship," said sophomore running back Bubba Kirksey of Hattiesburg. "We have some big shoes to fill on offense, so working this summer is going to help us get started filling those shoes."

The summer program is part of the master plan Hatten has put in at Pearl River since his arrival in 2002.

Under Hatten, the Wildcats are 47-7, and have won four consecutive state titles and a national championship in 2004. Last year, PRCC was 10-2 and reached the NJCAA national title game, losing to Blinn, Texas 17-5.

PRCC is the preseason No. 1 junior college team in the country in the JC Gridwire magazine poll, and many fans expect a similar ranking when the NJCAA preseason poll comes out in the next few days.

"The success we've had is directly related to the summer program we've had here," Hatten said. "This is huge for us."

This year, for the first time, Mississippi junior colleges will be able to follow NJCAA rules that allow coaches to do some hands-on work with players during the summer months.

Coaches are allowed four hours a week of direct contact with players during the summer. Hatten is putting his offense through 7-on-7 drills, and is also able to do some team meetings to get a head start on the season.

"The first day of practice doesn't mean anything any more," Hatten said. "It's just another day, except that we can put the pads on then.

"The thing is, this is their own money they're spending to come here. These are kids who know what they have to do to make this team and be successful."

Hatten said the entire 77-man preseason roster is on campus, most of them taking some classes, as well as doing the afternoon workouts. That number will have to be cut down to a final roster of 55, so competition is going to be keen.

It's especially important for the players who are coming in as freshmen.

"It's vital," said freshman quarterback Kirk Lance of Oak Grove, who is battling three other players for the starting job. "This is the time to get to know each other and get a feel for each other. The time to work hard and get better."

For the sophomores with Division I aspirations, the on-field work and the in-class work can make a big difference if those players want to graduate in December.

"The No. 1 thing is being able to graduate in December, so you're able to go on to wherever you're going next," said sophomore linebacker Keon Wilson, who will be heading back to his home town of Miami, Fla., in January to play for the Miami Hurricanes.

"You're able to go through spring practice and learn the plays ahead of time. It puts you a step ahead."

Coming to summer school also gives incoming freshmen an early start on the college experience.

"It's just getting used to college, living in the dorm and going to class," said freshman Marcus Smith of Forrest County AHS. "It's a lot different than high school."

In Smith's case, working out in the summer gives him an extra chance to get his surgically repaired knee back in shape. Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Aggies' final regular-season game last season.

"It's been seven months, so it's had enough time to heal," Smith said. "Coming out here lifting weights and working it have helped. The more work, the better."

Hatten said the school's administration has fallen in line with the summer school concept.

"I have to give the administration credit for allowing us to have summer school," Hatten said. "My first year here, I fed 15 kids with my grill because the dorm and cafeteria weren't open.

"The next year, we had 25 staying over the summer. The year after that, we had a full-blown squad on hand and they opened the dorms and had the cafeteria, just like in the fall. They've recognized the value of summer school."