By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

OCEAN SPRINGS — The 10th “Southern Six” Senior Spotlight sponsored by Reese’s of the new school year is Will Smith of Ocean Springs.

Each week throughout the school year, we here at SouthMiss6 Sports will highlight a senior student/athlete in the “Southern Six” to honor.

Smith, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior standout tailback for the Greyhounds and head coach Jake Bramlett, is coming off of an 186-yards on 18 carries rushing effort in a 34-14 road win over Biloxi last week and he also scored a touchdown.

Prior to that performance, Smith ran for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 10 carries in a big 48-3 Homecoming win for the Greyhounds over Harrison Central.

For the season, Smith has rushed for 806 yards and 10 scores on 110 carries for an average of over seven yards per carry.

He has been a key component in the 22-game region win streak that OSHS is currently enjoying. As a junior, Smith rebounded from an injury-shortened sophomore campaign to lead OSHS with 1,268 yards on the ground as well as 18 touchdowns scored. He averaged just over nine yards per carry last year.

Smith and his Greyhound teammates can capture their fourth straight region title Friday night with a win over visiting Gulfport.

The Reese’s company has long been a big supporter of current and former high school student/athletes all over the Southeast.

For over a decade now, Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cups has been the title sponsor of The Senior Bowl played annually in Mobile, Ala.

In addition to its new partnership with the Senior Bowl, the Reese’s® brand is also the official candy partner of the NCAA® and the title sponsor of the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Reese’s® College All-Star Game, which features the top Division I senior basketball student-athletes from around the country and is played the weekend of the NCAA Men’s Final Four®.

“The Reese’s brand is excited to continue our partnership with the Senior Bowl,” said Drew Iddings, Director, Promotions and Planning, The Hershey Company.  “We are confident that this partnership will continue to solidify the Reese’s brand’s leadership in collegiate athletics as well as honor senior student-athletes who achieved success on and off the field during their athletic careers.”

The 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM CT at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game and practices will be televised on the NFL Network. 

The Reese’s Senior Bowl is widely regarded as the preeminent college football all-star game and the first stage in the NFL Draft process. The longest continual-running all-star game has taken place in Mobile, Alabama the past 75 years.  More than 900 NFL personnel, including key decision-makers from all 32 teams, and over 1100 media members from around the country were credentialed this year. This past April, the game produced 110 total picks, representing 43 percent of the entire NFL draft.