DeAndre Smelter quits baseball

RamblinCharger

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Oh heck yes! he reminds me of Antquan Boldin, obviously not as polished, but he just brings in catches even though he isn't blazing fast. He could be a steal in the draft especially if he takes it up a notch this year.
 

Eric

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This is great as he will have all of Spring and all of his spare time to focus solely on football.

Hope it works out for him...he's a great kid.
 
kg01

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RamblinCharger said:
Oh heck yes! he reminds me of Antquan Boldin, obviously not as polished, but he just brings in catches even though he isn't blazing fast. He could be a steal in the draft especially if he takes it up a notch this year.
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I think he'll definitely play at the next level. We are WR U you know. His route-running will be overlooked based on our stellar rep putting pass-catchers in the league (only half-kidding).

That's high praise comparing him to Boldin, by the way. Boldin was a beast of an athlete at FSU including when he played QB.
 
Techster

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RamblinCharger said:
Oh heck yes! he reminds me of Antquan Boldin, obviously not as polished, but he just brings in catches even though he isn't blazing fast. He could be a steal in the draft especially if he takes it up a notch this year.
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Him...and Rod Smith that played for the Broncos back in the Elway years. Not burners, but guys who understood how to get open and make plays.

If Smelter can work on his explosiveness off the line and overall speed...it should help him immensely considering how much pressure JT is going to cause with his speed on the edges. One bad read on the QB pitch (or not) and Smelter gets a few steps on the DB, a bad read going the other way and JT will get more space on the second level to make guys look helpless.

That's another benefit of having elite speed at the QB position in this offense.
 

Rodney Kent

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My personal opinion is that the decision is not even debatable. He was being used as a relief pitcher. That will not get you the reputation in the Major league Baseball draft as much as a receiver in the National League Football Draft. It was a tremendous accomplishment in football to come in and become the number 1 receiver on the team in his first year, plus the returner on punts.

For his situation, it was an exceptional year. If he improves this year and makes an impact, he may well be drafted into the NFL. To me. it was a no-brainer to concentrate on football at this stage of his career.
 
deeeznutz

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Another positive for him, he's a crushing blocker. He laid a wallop on a safety for Ole Miss, 100% clean too, that stopped the game for a bit. It happened off to the side of the screen as the play developed, but was clear on replay. With the guy being down for so long (I think they even had to cart him off the field) the announcers didn't want to celebrate it at all and only showed the replay once or twice. They at least mentioned that it was a clean hit.
 
dressedcheeseside

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deeeznutz said:
Another positive for him, he's a crushing blocker. He laid a wallop on a safety for Ole Miss, 100% clean too, that stopped the game for a bit. It happened off to the side of the screen as the play developed, but was clear on replay. With the guy being down for so long (I think they even had to cart him off the field) the announcers didn't want to celebrate it at all and only showed the replay once or twice. They at least mentioned that it was a clean hit.
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Was it a blind hit, I can't remember? Not that I'm doubting it's legality or it's ferocity, but it's just not that impressive hitting a guy who's not looking.
 
kg01

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dressedcheeseside said:
Was it a blind hit, I can't remember? Not that I'm doubting it's legality or it's ferocity, but it's just not that impressive hitting a guy who's not looking.
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I'd challenge you to take a look at it and say it was unimpressive. It wasn't a totally blind hit but the guy was definitely not ready for it. I think the announcers thought he was dead. I'm exaggerating of course but he was convulsing on the ground. I remember it vividly.
 
deeeznutz

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Let's put it this way...if the guy had been looking in the direction he was running, he would have seen D coming at him like a freight train. I forget what the actual play was (rocket toss right?) but the safety was running towards the corner and got hit from straight on.
 
dressedcheeseside

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kg01 said:
I'd challenge you to take a look at it and say it was unimpressive. It wasn't a totally blind hit but the guy was definitely not ready for it. I think the announcers thought he was dead. I'm exaggerating of course but he was convulsing on the ground. I remember it vividly.
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That's not what I mean. Yeah, it was a wallup, but by impressive I mean skill. Anybody can hit somebody really hard who is not ready/doesn't see it coming.
 
Whiskey_Clear

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I think it is easy to sit back in an armchair and say this decision was a no brainer. Baseball was the kids first love I believe. Yes the shoulder injury was rotten luck an likely ended his prospects as a pitcher. I'm betting he could have made a transition to another position had he chosen to return. Don't follow baseball much so I could be way off base but the kid is an athlete and that usually translates well to other positions. It is much easier to earn a living playing pro baseball than it is in football and chance of having good longevity is better in baseball.

Hope this does work out well for him. I'm personally excited about it for my own selfish reasons. I do think he has the potential to make it in the NFL though and that is where he probably has the best chance for a real big pay day come time to sign a contract.
 

Eric

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Whiskey_Clear said:
I think it is easy to sit back in an armchair and say this decision was a no brainer. Baseball was the kids first love I believe. Yes the shoulder injury was rotten luck an likely ended his prospects as a pitcher. I'm betting he could have made a transition to another position had he chosen to return. Don't follow baseball much so I could be way off base but the kid is an athlete and that usually translates well to other positions. It is much easier to earn a living playing pro baseball than it is in football and chance of having good longevity is better in baseball.

Hope this does work out well for him. I'm personally excited about it for my own selfish reasons. I do think he has the potential to make it in the NFL though and that is where he probably has the best chance for a real big pay day come time to sign a contract.
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His first love was baseball but that has changed. He loves football now...as you can tell.

Sadly the injury ruined whatever chances he had of a baseball career.
 
buzzinanut69

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dressedcheeseside said:
That's not what I mean. Yeah, it was a wallup, but by impressive I mean skill. Anybody can hit somebody really hard who is not ready/doesn't see it coming.
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Not everyone has the mentality to go out there and kill someone. There's a certain amount of "nastiness" that I wish more players have when they are between the white lines.
 
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