After redshirting for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football program last season, Tazmin Smith-Windsor is ready to make an impact in his second year
Smith-Windsor, who graduated from Carlton Comprehensive in 2023, says he has been eagerly anticipating the start of the 2024 season for quite some time.
“I’ve been looking forward to it pretty much since last season ended. It’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait at all. I’m excited, I’m excited for school but football’s been pretty much the main thing in my mind for almost a whole year. I’m pretty excited to get back to it.”
After dressing in a single game for the Huskies at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Smith-Windsor was redshirted for the remainder of the campaign.
Smith-Windsor says he took advantage of his time as a redshirt to become familiar with the Huskie playbook, which is far more complicated than anything he had learned playing in high school at Carlton.
“I spent a lot of last year learning the system which is very complex. It’s nothing I’ve really ever done before being in such a complex system. Now that I’ve had a year and a little bit to learn from the vets and learn from the coaches. I think I have a good understanding of the playbook and what I need to do from that standpoint. It’s really just being confident in my abilities and going out and making plays.”
In the classroom, Smith-Windsor is pursuing a degree in biomedical sciences. He says the transition from high school to university while managing his academics and football career was something he found to be challenging at first.
“It was a tricky transition and everybody says it’s different, but you don’t really know until you get there. I learned a lot about how to be a better university student overall, and I think that I can take what I’ve learned from last year and really apply it into this upcoming term, which will be difficult. I think with what I’ve learned, I can balance football in school better than I did last year and hopefully find the same success on the academic side as I do in football.”
Last season, the Huskies posted an overall 5-4 record on the campaign but lost in the Canada West Semi-Final to the University of Alberta 40-17.
Smith-Windsor says the Huskies are hoping to build off the success they had last season.
“I think the expectations are raised from last year for sure. There’s a standard, if you ask anybody who’s been a part of the program, they’ll tell you that there’s a pretty high standard around when it comes to every aspect of being on the team. I think if we’re really focused on taking it one week at a time and just holding ourselves to that high standard that we have for years and hopefully have another successful season.”
The Huskies open training camp on Monday and open pre-season action at 7 p.m. on Aug. 22 when they welcome the University of Alberta Golden Bears to Griffiths Stadium. Their home opener is Friday, Sept. 13 against the University of Calgary Dinos.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
