SMITH ON VERGE OF RIDER DEAL?

Rider prospect Ryan Smith of NDSU

FARGO – Former North Dakota State receiver Ryan Smith no longer has any eligibility and may be on the verge of signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

But the role Smith played will keep on giving as long as the Bison continue to run the West Coast offense.

He created the footprint that NDSU will try to replicate for years.

“He laid the foundation,” said freshman receiver Tyler Wrice. “He showed that you can be a smaller receiver, but you have to play hard and put down effort on every single play.”

The foundation is commonly called “slot receiver” and Smith worked that to perfection at times over the course of his last three years at NDSU. Wrice is hoping to be that guy.

Smith was 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds his senior year. Wrice is 5-7, 170 pounds.

“Just look at the way he used his quickness to his advantage,” Wrice said. “We’re both smaller players, so he showed that you have to think ahead and go into a game with a plan to figure out what the defensive player is going to do before he makes his moves.”

His father, Trampis Wrice, played cornerback at the University of Nebraska and his cousin, Antwon Blake, is a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tyler Wrice is hoping to add the slot receiver distinction to the football family tree.

“To be more like a playmaker and to make explosive plays,” he said, “because obviously I’m not going to be on the field all the time because there are bigger receivers. We can come in on certain packages and make a big play happen.”

It’s the blueprint that Ryan Smith worked to perfection.

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