Former Central star McKissic signs with Falcons

J.D. McKissic has proven people wrong before. And he is looking to do it again.

McKissic, a former standout at Central High, signed with the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night as an undrafted free agent.

The NFL finished its draft — seven rounds — Saturday night. Soon after, scouts and team executives begin calling undrafted players they have seen through out the scouting process.

McKissic was one of those players who went undrafted by one of the 32 NFL teams, so he was free to sign with any team.

McKissic broke the news on Twitter Saturday night, although the tweet was later taken down.

While at Central, McKissic was a Ledger-Enquirer All-Bi-City selection as a wdie receiver. In his senior season (2010), he had 25 catches for 571 yards and six TDs. He also rushed for 411 yards and returned 22 kickoffs for 486 yards.

Despite those numbers, major college teams likely paid more attention to McKissic height (5-foot-11). He finally signed with Arkansas State of the Sun Belt Conference.

While with Arkansas State, he became a prolific wide receiver, leaving the school with six records, including most catches in a game (15), most in a season (103) and most in a career (286).

He was the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in 2012 — he redshirted in 2011. He was an honorable mention All-American in 2013.

The Falcons signed four undrafted free agents, In addition to McKissic, they signed safety Tarris Batiste, safety Sharrod Neasman and quarterback Alex Ross. The team is expected to sign more, but those are the only ones officially signed, according to nfl.com.

McKissic will try to do what another former Bi-City star did. Former Carver star Isaiah Crowell signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent two years ago. He has started 13 games in the past two seasons.

McKissic could not be reached for comment.

This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Former Central star McKissic signs with Falcons."