Technical Tidbits 5/4

Former Yellow Jacket and two-sport star DeAndre Smelter, who was selected in the fourth round by the San Francisco 49ers over the weekend, has already been named the best pick of day three by NFL.com's Elliot Harrison. While Smelter's talent and potential are both undeniable to say the least, I was a bit surprised to see him listed as the best pick of the final four rounds -- his selection has been harshly scrutinized by a number of disgruntled San Francisco fans who are tired of drafting players with ligament damage like the recently retired Marcus Lattimore and now Smelter.

Linebacker Quayshawn Nealy, a fixture on Tech's defense for the better part of the last four seasons, signed a UDFA contract to join the Seattle Seahawks after going undrafted over the weekend. As a defensive player, there are few better places to end up than in Seattle. The defensive pedigree in the Emerald City, along with the recent tradition of winning, provides for a great atmosphere to develop in, particularly as a linebacker -- linebackers coach Ken Norton, Jr. is among the best in the business.

All-American offensive lineman Shaq Mason, who was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Patriots, is ecstatic to join the team up in New England. We've been saying for months here on FTRS that the team which selected Mason would need to be more than a little bit savvy, and few teams are more football savvy than the New England Patriots. Whereas many teams saw Mason's play in Tech's flexbone offense as a hindrance, the Patriots clearly saw the versatility that it was able to instill in him as a player and were willing to take a flyer. In fact, they were willing to do much more than take a flyer -- sixth or seventh-round picks are projects, but fourth-round picks have immediate expectations.

Georgia Tech baseball picked up a much-needed sweep of the Presbyterian College Blue Hose over the weekend to improve to 29-17 on the season. The Yellow Jacket offense finally looks to be back on track after averaging 8.7 runs per game over the series, up from just 2.2 runs per game over the previous five. Hopefully the good momentum will be able to carry into the big upcoming series against Pittsburgh, which will mark both Tech's penultimate ACC series of the season and their final home series, and possibly even beyond.

Which recent draftee or non-draftee from Tech will have the most success with his current team?

Congratulations to all the Yellow Jackets now on NFL rosters!