Macon Boy Does Good

Deandre Smelter, the Tech receiver who caught two TD passes Saturday at Duke, was a former GT baseball pitcher who had a bad shoulder.

I didn’t realize that Smelter was the pitcher my dad had followed at the high school around the corner from his house in Macon…Tattnall Square Academy. Smelter had an athletic scholarship to the small private school and was a three-sport stand-out. He had football scholarship offers and was drafted by the Twins, but went to Tech to play baseball. He also played for the East Cobb Yankees.

I didn’t realize it was the same guy until my dad pointed it out to me. The radio broadcasters mentioned he had been drafted, but never said what high school he had gone to. Wes Durham and most other college radio announcers mention the players high school to gain popularity and a following in the player’s hometowns. That is a smart thing to do, and the new radio announcer should do that as well.