Georgia Tech WR DeAndre Smelter Out For Season With Torn ACL

Georgia Tech is preparing for the ACC Championship Game on Saturday against Florida State but the Yellow Jackets won’t have wide receiver DeAndre Smelter after he was diagnosed with a torn ACL and is lost for the season

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DeAndre Smelter is out for the season after Georgia Tech’s leading receiver was diagnosed with a torn ACL. Smelter leads the Yellow Jackets with 35 receptions for 717 yards and seven touchdowns as the primary target for quarterback Justin Thomas in the option offense. Smelter even had 103 yards rushing and a touchdown this year.

Darron Waller is the only other receiver on the team with double-digit receptions (16) and more than 161 yards (255) and more than one touchdown (4) so the Yellow Jackets will have to rely even more on the nation’s No. 4 rushing attack than usual without their 6-3, 225-pound senior receiver on the field.

Georgia Tech won 10 games this year, including five straight despite having the nation’s No. 122 passing offense that averages 135.3 yards per game, so this isn’t necessarily a death blow to their chances of pulling off the upset against the No. 3 Seminoles, but the pressure will be on head coach Paul Johnson to beat the Florida State defense without his top playmaker on the perimeter.

Georgia Tech plays Florida State in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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