Three DeKalb alums drafted into NFL
Former DeKalb County high school football players will now play at the highest level of football.
Three players from the county were drafted into the National Football League April 25-29. Former Stephenson Jaguar Montez Sweat was the first DeKalb alum to have his name called in the draft.
The former Mississippi State defensive end was drafted 26th overall by Washington in the first round. Sweat, a 2014 graduate, finished his senior year at Stephenson with 33 total tackles, six tackles for a loss and one sack. He also played basketball and averaged 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks his senior year.
At Mississippi State, Sweat had 22 sacks in 26 career games, 101 tackles and 29.5 tackles for loss. His 0.85 career sacks per game ranked second nationally among active players, while his 22 sacks were the second most since the start of the 2017 season among Power 5 school players, according to Mississippi State’s athletic department.
He finished his college career tied for fifth on the school’s career list for sacks and eighth for tackles for loss.
Southwest DeKalb High School 2015 graduate Abdurrahman Ibn “Rock” Ya-Sin was drafted in the second round by the Indianapolis Colts with the 34th overall pick. The defensive back was the Dekalb County leader in interceptions (seven) his senior year. He also accumulated 42 total tackles in his senior year.
Ya-Sin was a three-time region champion, three-time county champion and two-time state champion wrestler at Southwest DeKalb. He played football at Presbyterian College for three seasons before transferring to Temple University in 2018. He finished third in the American Athletic Conference and tied for 14th in the nation in passes defended (12). He recorded a career-high 10 tackles vs. Tulsa and had an interception.
Tucker High School alum YaQuis “Duke” Shelley was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round with the 205th overall pick. The 2015 graduate finished his senior year at Tucker with 31 total tackles, nine pass breakups and three interceptions. On offense, he rushed for 324 yards and scored three touchdowns.
At Kansas State, Shelley started 37 games at corner back and tied for fourth in school history in career interception-return touchdowns (2). He was named a Second Team All-Big 12 performer by the league’s coaches in 2018.
