On April 30, 2013, about a week after DeAndre Smelter had decided to give up baseball at Georgia Tech to try his hand at football, he gave this explanation about making the switch.
“I really just want to enjoy my time here in college,” he said. “I’ve had a great experience, and I don’t want to look back on life saying, ‘What could have been.’”
Saturday, Smelter was able to look forward and wonder what could be. After playing two seasons at wide receiver for the Yellow Jackets, Smelter was selected in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers, the 33rd pick of the round, 132nd overall and one pick after teammate Shaquille Mason.
“Well, I’m just grateful and humble right now,” Smelter told San Francisco media on a conference call. “A great opportunity.”
The 49ers jumped on Smelter despite the fact that he is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the Georgia game in late November, presumably impressed with his raw ability, superior ball skills, body control and competitive fire. Those attributes enabled Smelter to catch 56 passes for 1,060 yards and 11 touchdowns in two seasons despite not having played football since 2008, his high-school junior season. (He skipped his senior season to concentrate on baseball.)
Smelter, drafted in the 14th round of the major league baseball draft in 2010 by the Minnesota Twins, pitched and played outfield three seasons for the Jackets but his career was hampered by a lingering shoulder injury that prevented him from regaining his pitching velocity.
It led him back to football, a sport he starred in at Tattnall Square Academy in Macon along with baseball and drew scholarship offers from the likes of Tech, Georgia and South Carolina. And it has brought him to the precipice of a professional career with a team that is seeking wide receiver depth.
Smelter told reporters Saturday that he has advanced in his rehabilitation to straight-line running. He doesn’t have any expectations about the 2015 season, saying he’ll leave it in doctors’ hands. But he sounded ready to get going.
“All I know about the 49ers offense is it’s a lot different than the offense I ran in college,” Smelter said. “I won’t know anything about it until I get in there and learn it.”
“Like (NFL wide receiver) Eric Decker, Smelter is a former baseball player with outstanding hand-eye coordination. Both will have entered the draft with questions lingering about a season-ending injury (Lisfranc for Decker). Smelter is an uber-athlete with a background of excellence in every sport he has played. He plays well beyond his experience level at wide receiver. His toughness, natural instincts and football intelligence should earn him a spot on a depth chart, provided there are no lasting effects from his ACL tear.” – NFL.com
About the Author
