Tech baseball player to join football team
Georgia Tech pitcher DeAndre Smelter, whose career has been limited by a shoulder injury, will leave the baseball team at the end of the season and join the football team. He will accept a football scholarship in the move and play wide receiver, according to a Twitter message from coach Paul Johnson. He will have two years of eligibility in football and be eligible to play this fall.
Smelter was recruited by Tech to play football out of Tattnall Square Academy, a GISA school in Macon. Smelter played quarterback, running back, wide receiver and safety and was offered by Tech, Georgia, LSU, Auburn and South Carolina, according to Scout recruiting service, for the 2010 recruiting year.
For his career, Smelter has made 29 pitching appearances for 34.2 innings with an ERA of 3.89 and an opponent batting average of .272.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
