The Georgia Tech offense under head coach Paul Johnson doesn’t require much from the passing game, but when it does wide receiver DeAndre Smelter is usually on the other end of the passes. Nonetheless, the team will have to do without their leading receiver when they take the field for the ACC Championship against the Florida State Seminoles. Smelter injured his knee during the opening quarter of the team’s 30-24 win over the Georgia Bulldogs- the team’s first victory in the last five contests between the two teams. The severity of the injury remains unclear, but Johnson said in a conference call that he finds it unlikely Smelter will able to play.
“He’s been a really good player for us all year,” Johnson said. “He’s been a go-to guy, not only receiving but he’s a really good blocker and a really good football player. If he doesn’t play, he’s a guy we’ll really miss. But our feel has been it’s gotta be the next guy up. We play a lot of guys at that position. Micheal Summers, Ricky Jeune, Corey Dennis will have to step it up.”
Smelter has been the team’s big play threat all season, catching 35 passes for an astonishing 715 yards and seven touchdowns. This has given the Yellow Jacket offense the ability to stretch the field and punish opposing defenses with their relentless rushing attack. Playing without Smelter will be a major disadvantage, but anything can happen in a conference championship game and expect the lesser-known wide outs to fill his void.
The senior has potential to continue his career at the next level and many scouts view him as a sleeper pick entering the 2015 NFL Draft. Still, if a significant injury occurred, it could not only hurt Georgia Tech’s chances of winning an ACC crown, but ruin his chances of being drafted by an NFL team as well.
*Section Photo credit to Scott Cunningham, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Brett Davis, USA Today Sports.
