Smith could get his shot
Teidrick Smith appreciates the opportunity the Ottawa Redblacks are giving him.
The 22-year-old defensive lineman hopes to repay them with some tackles and maybe some sacks real soon.
Smith, the Division 3 defensive player of the year with University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2016 after an amazing season with 15 ½ sacks and 23 ½ tackles behind the line of scrimmage, has been getting plenty of first-team reps this week in practice.
There’s a good chance he makes his CFL debut Thursday night at home against Edmonton.
“We’ve been repping him all week,” Redblacks coach Rick Campbell said Tuesday.
“I would say he’s definitely a possibility. We’ll have to see how (injured defensive end Arnaud) Gascon-Nadon is doing. We’d like to have both of them on, but we’ll see how it plays out.”
Smith was cut by the Los Angeles Rams after mini-camp and one of the team’s scouts, Steve Kazor, passed along his name to the Redblacks, who signed him a month ago.
“He’s a powerful guy, he has a low centre of gravity so he can get his pads under people,” Campbell said. “He’s also a sharp guy — we’ve thrown quite a few things at him. There are some guys who get it when you talk to them and some guys don’t — he’s one of those guys who gets it.”
Smith has spent plenty of time adjusting to the Canadian rules, hoping for his opportunity.
“It means a lot to be out there with the first team,” he said. “I’m just going out there and hoping for the best. You have to study, especially coming from the States to here.
“I’ve been getting extra film work, spending extra time with coaches, so I can get a full grasp on everything’s that going on around me.”