Ticats slotback Tasker aiming for ‘best season’
Veteran receiver healthy again and looking to make an impact, writes Terry Koshan.
Luke Tasker has little interest 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 say on Friday.
“I don’t have a number I’m 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 most productive CFL season 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 off 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’s 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 (along with Brandon Banks, who also made his Tiger-Cats debut in 2013), 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’s 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’s one of the best receivers in the league,” Austin said.
“I know that’s debatable and is always a debate, but when you look at what’s required of him in our offence, which the average person that watches wouldn’t understand, all the nuance to what he does, he’s very valuable.
“He does everything the right way. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t make mistakes, we all do. But it’s never an issue of his level of commitment, dedication or his heart. There is nothing that we have given him since I have coached him (including three years at Cornell) that he hasn’t been able to absorb and do well.”
Tasker has a pretty solid idea that, if the Ticats can stay healthy through the season, they’ll 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, confidencewise, we’re in a good spot.”