Appling County Football Player Darris Smith Voted ITG Next 2021-22 Georgia Male Athlete of the Year
The ITG Next 2022 Georgia Male Athlete of the Year is Darris Smith of the Appling County Pirates. Smith received the most votes of our four candidates who were nominated for the award. Smith and the other candidates who were nominated certainly do represent the absolute best of the best, and each one is likely to be competing well beyond their high school days.
In addition to Smith, the other candidates for 2022 Georgia Male Athlete of the Year were:
- Termarr Johnson, a standout senior baseball player for Mays High School, and considered by many to be the top pick in the upcoming MLB draft
- Buford senior Isiah Bond, a speedy wide receiver for the state champion Buford Wolves, as well as a top sprinter on the Buford track team. He will have a bright future in either sport.
- The Georgia Gatorade basketball Player of the Year, Bruce Thornton from Milton High School.
ITG Next Georgia congratulates each of these great players and wishes them the best.
Darris Smith has been a two-way standout player for the Appling County Pirates football team, and is headed to the University of Georgia to continue his football career with the Bulldogs. But that’s not the whole story on Darris. He also was an accomplished track athlete at Appling, where he won two track state titles. He won an individual state championship in the 400m, becoming the first track athlete from Appling County high school to win a state title in that event, and breaking the school record in the process. Smith also was a member of the “Four Horsemen,” the nickname given to the Pirates’ 4x400m relay team, which claimed a state championship while running their fastest time of the season.
Darris also played basketball at Appling County. His father, Darris Smith Sr., said his son grew up in Appling County and played football and basketball his entire life, but didn’t start running track until he got to high school. But he said the family knew Darris had the potential to do anything he wanted much earlier.
“We knew he had the potential to do great things when he was in the seventh grade,” said the proud father.
What was it that really stuck out with the elder Smith and convinced him of his son’s abilities? “When I realized he was two inches taller than me,” Mr. Smith said with a chuckle.
Darris’ mother, Felicia Smith Paulk, walked us through some of her son’s awards and accomplishments as a member of the Appling football team from this past season. The list includes: 2021 AJC All-State defensive lineman, 2021 Recruit Georgia All State defensive lineman, 2021 GACA All State defensive lineman, 2021 1-AAA All Region defensive lineman and 2021 1-AAA All-Region Second Team wide receiver. Pirates Head Football Coach Jordan Mullis summed up the two faces of Darris that make him a great person as well as a great player: “He is a beast, but he’s also the most humble kid I’ve ever coached,” Mullis said.
That’s the mark of the great ones: Talk softly and let your actions speak for themselves. ITG Next Georgia congratulates Darris Smith as our 2022 Georgia Male Athlete of the Year.
