The instructions for the group who will try to replace wide receiver DeAndre Smelter for Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl are either relaxingly simple or stressingly vague.
“Just go do your job and play,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said.
Smelter suffered a knee injury in the win against Georgia last month. Fellow senior Darren Waller stepped up in the loss to Florida State in the ACC championship game with five receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown, which went a long way to overcome the absence of Smelter, who leads the team in receptions (35), yards (715) and touchdowns (seven).
But Waller was the only wide receiver to catch a pass in the game. Because of its dominating running game, the Yellow Jackets may be able to contend with Mississippi State in Miami with Waller as the only threat on the outside. But it might be easier if Micheal Summers, Ricky Jeune or Antonio Messick can provide other threats as well.
“They need to get the job done,” wide receivers coach Buzz Preston said.
Summers, a redshirt sophomore, is the only one of the trio to post notable stats this season and even those are modest: seven starts, five receptions for 34 yards. Messick, a redshirt freshman, has appeared in five games with one reception for 16 yards. Jeune has yet to play. But the coaches and teammates like their potential for a lot of reasons.
Summers’ strength is his athleticism. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, he has the size to win one-on-one matchups with cornerbacks. He’s also ready to take on more a of leadership role with the receivers group after the Orange Bowl.
Like Smelter and Waller have done, Summers said he’s learning to capitalize on any opportunity during the game.
“You have to be relentless and push through,” he said.
Preston said Jeune, who at 6-3 and 214 pounds has the size of a typical Tech receiver, is polished, is starting to gain confidence and should get opportunities to play in the Orange Bowl. Though Jeune is untested, he caught 36 passes for 10 touchdowns as a senior at Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J., where he was a three-time all-state selection.
“He’s been consistent,” Johnson said. “Got a lot of attitude so we thought he would be a good player.”
Preston said Messick (6-3, 195) may physically be the best of the group. His biggest area of improvement needs to come in better understanding the game and the decisions to be made when running routes.
“He can really make some big strides for us,” Preston said.
As the group’s veteran, Waller has watched the young receivers in their first years and believes each can make a contribution not only in the Orange Bowl but in pending years as weapons for quarterback Justin Thomas in the passing game and as effective blockers in the running game.
The key for them will be to do what Waller and Smelter eventually learned: go hard every day in practice, even when they don’t feel like doing so.
“What are you going to do in the fourth quarter when you are tired and your technique may break off a little bit?” Waller said. “What you do in practice when you are tired will carry over to the game. You can’t wait for the game. You have to treat every day like that. They have improved. It’s good to see.”
