Tasker gives Ticats big-play receiver
Injury curtailed what had been productive 2016
Luke Tasker has little i nterest in spitting out a number and saying that’s what he wants to achieve in yards this season.
The Hamilton Tiger- Cats slotback would rather speak in generalities, and if you live and die by what the Ticats do on the field, you should be happy with what he had to impart on Friday.
“I don’t have a number I am trying to reach, but I will say I want to have my best season I’ve ever had in the CFL,” Tasker said after the Tiger- Cats practised in the rain at Tim Hortons Field.
“I want to be great and I hope that leads to being part of a playoff team and a championship team.”
There’s no arguing the fact that quarterback Zach Collaros is the man in Hamilton. A healthy and successful Collaros increases greatly the Ticats’ realistic chances of winning the Grey Cup. Fans in the Hammer don’t have to be reminded what happens when Collaros is on the sideline, recovering from injury.
Tasker, heading into his fourth full season with the Ticats, has the capabilities to make a heavy impact in his own right. The 26- year- old was well on his way to his most productive season in the CFL in 2016, racking up 852 yards and five touchdowns before an abdominal injury forced him to miss the final six games and the playoffs.
That came after he had 1,066 yards receiving and six touchdowns in 14 games in 2015. To recover properly from his abdominal problems, Tasker spent part of the off-season strengthening his core muscles using Pilates.
“It ties those muscles together and it was a huge help for me,” Tasker said. “There’s not too much for me to think about with that now.
“It’s not an injury that is lingering and it’s not something I have to deal with on a day- to- day basis in terms of treatment. I’m just ready to go and I’m happy to have that behind me.”
Collaros and Tasker have clicked in their time together in the Ticats offence, and as the longest- serving current receiver, Tasker relishes the responsibility that comes with being one of the veterans.
It’s not as though Tasker has not had to mature greatly during his time in the CFL. He has had a firm grip on his job description since the day the team signed him four years ago this September. And the more that head coach Kent Austin has asked of him, the more that Tasker has responded positively.
“I think he is one of the best receivers in the league,” Austin said. “I know that is debatable and is always a debate, but when you look at what is required by him in our offence, which the average person that watches wouldn’t understand, all the nuance to what he does, he is very valuable.”
Tasker has a pretty solid idea that if the Ticats can stay generally healthy through the season, they will be Cup contenders in November. The focus now, however, only is on the season- opener on Sunday afternoon at BMO Field against the rival Toronto Argonauts. “It’s a good way to start the year off,” Tasker said. “It’s an away game, but we don’t mind playing in Toronto. Our fans are there, and we’ll sleep in our own beds the night before.
“I just think that confidence-wise we are in a good spot.”