By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

T’was the night before…
Well, National Signing Day is just like Christmas for a lot of fans of college football teams across the Southeast, and yet another one is upon us.
Student/Athletes from all across the country as well as here in the “Southern Six” will once again put pen to paper beginning Wednesday morning inking scholarship deals to eventually play on the next level.
At least two senior standouts in the “Southern Six” are expected to sign with Southeastern Conference schools as George County quarterback Deuce Knight is committed to Auburn and St. Stanislaus placekicker Evan Noel is committed to Florida.

Both recently de-committed from other major colleges and “flipped” to the teams they are currently committed to in the past six weeks, as Knight was originally committed to Notre Dame and Noel to Arkansas. Also, Knight has been heavily pursued by Ole Miss as it has been documented that he’s been on the sidelines with the Rebel team in two games recently in Oxford.
Lucedale is definitely the place to be on Wednesday as George County is expected to have as many a three players ink D-I deals.

Along with Knight, Rebel defensive back Kohl Bradley is expected to sign with South Alabama while versatile standout Brenn Moody is mulling an offer from Middle Tennessee State.
Elsewhere, Picayune standout tailback Darrell Smith is expected to sign with Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday, and Pascagoula linebacker Jaylon Parnell is expected to ink with Louisiana Tech. St. Martin defensive lineman Romane Grant is expected to sign with the United States Naval Academy.

In Moss Point, standout lineman Deshawn Feazell is committed to Southeastern Louisiana and in Ocean Springs defensive lineman B.J. Ausmer has been committed to the Lions as well for quite awhile but Greyhound head coach Jake Bramlett indicated on Tuesday that Ausmer is going to wait until the February signing period to make his decision known.

Another pair of Jackson County products appear headed to Hattiesburg as possibly part of the struggling Southern Miss football program as both Pascagoula quarterback Silas Corder and Gautier linebacker Fredrick Nicholson are set for “Signing Day” ceremonies at their respective schools.
However, sources close to both sides have indicated to SouthMiss6 Sports that neither will be signing actual “Athletic Scholarships” with the school and that both are set to be “Preferred Walk-On’s” although there may be some academic scholarship possibilities for either as well.
Both, though, were included on an abbreviated official “Signing Day List” of just five players released by the school late Wednesday afternoon or early that evening. And, the future fate of each player at USM will be determined by the new Golden Eagles football coach when a new leader is named to that post.