Mitchell Blair
Saskatchewan Roughrider wide receiver Taj Smith might have opened many eyes with a 2013 that saw him catch 78 balls for 1.007 yards and seven touchdowns, but he may be ready to eclipse those numbers and turn into one of the best receivers in the CFL in 2014. He is certainly off to a good start.
The 30 year old has picked up right where he left off 2013 with quarterback Darian Durant in the pre-season catching two touchdown passes while giving Riders fans a taste as to what the vertical passing game could be like in 2014. Smith credits the early season success to sitting beside his talented quarterback in meetings and seeing things a different way.
“I sit right by him in meetings and we see a lot of things,” Smith said. “He has a lot more trust in me now and he knows when he puts that ball up there that I can go get it. I’m just grateful to have the opportunity I have.”
Durant smiles when it comes to talking about Smith saying he certainly has the attributes to become a special player if he isn’t one already.
“It’s a good feeling to have that home-run threat in your back-pocket.” Durant said. “When we watched film, we saw that we missed a lot of opportunities last year and he still made a lot of plays. I’ll definitely be giving him a chance to make those plays this year and we’ve started this year off on a good note so that’s a good thing as we move ahead.”
When it comes to taking his game to the next level, Smith certainly believes he has the ability to, but he says it’s not something he will strive to do as the season goes along saying team goes before individual.
“As a receiver, you want to be the best and that’s what I work at every day, but my goal is to get better every day and make the team better.” Smith said. “We have a great group of receivers here and we need to give Darian a lot of options when he is back there. If I am the guy he wants to throw the ball to, I have to make sure I’m in a position to catch it whether it be a long ball or not.”
Smith’s play in the pre-season and training camp has certainly caught the eye of Head Coach Corey Chamblin who believes the Syracuse grad could be on the path to doing something special.
“He’s shown me a lot this year after showing me a lot last year,” Chamblin said. “I think he’s on his way to being a big-time receiver in this league. He has the speed and he has the ability. He just has to work on his mindset that he wants to be one of the best. I certainly think he is heading in the right direction though.”
Smith realizes there could be a little more attention focused on him this year because of the loss in the off-season of Weston Dressler and Geroy Simon, but he says that creates that opportunity to make him get better which is what he wants to do.
“I’ve seen what I could have done last year and Darian and I have talked about correcting those things,” Smith said with a determined tone. “As I said, I just have to keep working to get better and keep that trust with Darian so he knows when he puts it up there that I can get it. If we do that, it will help us get wins and that’s what I’m all about.”
If Durant can put it up there and Smith can get under it, he will create nightmares for many defensive backs and defensive co-ordinators wondering how they can stop the Riders deep threat from doing what he does best.
