By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PICAYUNE — The next “Southern Six” Senior Spotlight sponsored by Reese’s of the new school year is Darrell Smith of Picayune.

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

Smith, the senior standout tailback for perennial state power Picayune, has really stepped up his game during his final campaign with the Maroon Tide as he has become one of the top running backs in the rushing for 2,012 yards and 22 touchdowns this year. He is averaging right at 190 yards rushing per game, and he has guided Picayune to its fourth straight region title.

Smith has also caught nine passes out of the backfield for one score, returned a kick-off 90 yards for a touchdown and he has also thrown a pass for a score in guiding the Maroon Tide to a 10-2 mark.

He has scored either three or four touchdowns four different times in a game this season as well, and has eclipsed the 200-yard mark six times in a contest as well.

Smith and his troops host Region 4-6A rival George County in the Class 6A South State semifinals Friday night at Lee-Triplett Stadium.

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.