Jacksonville signs former Tattnall, Georgia Tech standout DeAndre Smelter

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com
 

          DeAndre Smelter is back on an NFL roster, and substantially closer to home.

          The former Tattnall standout was signed Friday by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who waived defensive tackle Michael Hughes.

          Smelter was picked by San Francisco in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, and so began a back-and-forth career.

          The Georgia Tech product wasn’t put on the 53-man roster for 2015, thanks in large part to an ACL injury suffered in the final game of 2014 at Georgia.

          He was waived early in the 2016 season, re-signed, and played in two games in 2016 for the 49ers, getting a catch for 23 yards.

          Smelter was waived again early in the 2017 season, and signed to the practice squad. He was on the Indianapolis roster from Jan.-May 2018, and was waived.

          Smelter was a three-sport star at Tattnall, signing with Georgia Tech to play baseball. After three years and some injuries, he moved to football for two seasons and was a standout at wide receiver.

          He caught 11 touchdown passes and 1,060 yards on 56 catches.

          The 26-year-old has shown promise with each stop and transaction, but has battled untimely injuries and/or coaching changes.

          He joins former Northside standout Abry Jones with the Jags.