Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
Through training camp, the Ticats’ secondary has seemingly operated with a revolving door. A combination of injuries and positional competition has seen multiple players auditioned in the backfield throughout camp and the brief exhibition schedule.
But as the group welcomes the return of a familiar face in the form of Geoff Tisdale this week, the Black and Gold’s ball hawks hope that the bonds they have built early in this 2012 campaign can serve them well as they prepare for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday.
Tisdale is overjoyed to be playing the game he loves at this stage, and is confident that he can fit quickly into the role cast for him by his Ticat coaches.
“I’m happy to be here, and really happy to be anywhere at this point,” says the experienced defensive back of his return to TigerTown. “I’m happy to be playing football. That’s the most important thing. I’m just getting into the playbook now. I just got in yesterday, so I’m trying to get my head wrapped around everything right now. It always has its challenges but it’s not too hard. It’s my job to be able to do that, so it’s not too much and I’ll overcome it.”
Tisdale explains that the impetus to adapt quickly comes not from the coaching staff but from himself, as he carries certain expectations of himself as a professional.
“The coaches didn’t really say how quickly they expected me to adjust, but for me, I expect myself to be able to do it fast,” says Tisdale. “I want to have it down on day one. I’m supposed to prepare for it and so I want to have it down.”
The veteran’s struggle to adapt is aided by his teammates, who are striving at this stage to establish the communication necessary to work as a group on the competitive field. Bo Smith – a seasoned member of the secondary in his own right and a man with experience playing alongside Tisdale – indicates that proper communication is the next step now that he and his fellow defensive backs have established their playing styles.
“Basically right now, we’ve got to communicate,” says Smith. “We all know how each other plays since we’ve been together for a while. Now it’s all about communication on this defence, to make sure that we’re all doing the same things out there.”
While his level of experience makes Smith a natural leader among the Ticats’ defensive backs, he argues that each member of the unit must demonstrate his own brand of leadership in his own position if the group is to succeed.
“Everyone’s got a leadership role on that defence,” says the Ticat veteran. “Everybody’s got to be a leader out there, because if everybody’s a leader, it means that guys are stepping up and making plays on ‘D’.”
Building chemistry as a squad is one of the most important functions of the preseason for any team. Despite the injuries and experimentation of training camp, Smith believes that he and his fellow defensive backs have built up a strong understanding in their time together.
“We’re still comfortable together because we went through camp together,” says Smith of the collective backfield. “We bonded, we ate together and spent a lot of time together. We me each other’s families and bonded really well and we know what we’ve got to do on the field.”
With Friday’s season opener quickly approaching, Smith is quick to show his excitement to finally get the campaign underway. But he cautions that the key to his group’s success against the Roughriders is to remain concentrated on their responsibilities as individuals and as a unit despite the rush of a competitive debut.
“Oh I’m definitely excited,” says the Ticat veteran. “I’ve been waiting to play, worked hard all through the off-season and it’s time to play this season now. Preseason is the warmup, these things count now. To do well, we need to stay focused on our jobs. If we make sure that we do our jobs on the field, then everything’s going to be fine.”
