HAMILTON

Luke Tasker is playing catchup.

When the Hamilton Tiger-Cats entertain the B.C. Lions on Saturday night at Tim Hortons Field, it will be just the third game of the season for Tasker after he suffered a hamstring injury during training camp.

“Not letting the exhaustion and the pace of the game get to me is a goal I want to accomplish this week,” Tasker said following practice on Wednesday. “Just getting back in the mentality of the game is something I want to get back to mastering.”

Tasker certainly accomplished as much a year ago, finishing with a Ticats-high 937 receiving yards on the way to being named a Canadian Football League East Division all-star. The opportunity to continue that play into 2015 was derailed for four games when he was hurt during one-on-one drills on a cold, wet day in June.

With veteran Andy Fantuz on the six-game injured list with an elbow injury — he has missed one game already — it’s imperative for Tasker to find his legs. The Ticats’ leading receiver, Bakari Grant, did not practise on Wednesday, with head coach and general manager Kent Austin answering: ‘Right now, it is,’ when asked if Grant was having a maintenance day.

Safety Craig Butler, who missed the victory over Winnipeg on Sunday because of injury, again did not practise on Wednesday and his status for the game this week is “not looking good,” Austin said.

In two games since he has returned to the active roster, Tasker has caught 10 passes for 108 yards.

“It was good to get Luke back with that (Fantuz) loss,” Austin said. “They’re similar receivers. Different body types, but their understanding of the game is very similar and Luke can play multiple positions, so it gives us a little bit of security and flexibility.”

Receiver Spencer Watt, signed as a free agent during the off-season, didn’t get a chance to try on the Ticats colours after spending the previous five seasons with the rival Toronto Argonauts. Watt suffered a season-ending Achilles heel injury in the spring.

Austin doesn’t lie awake at night pondering what it would be like to have a fully healthy set of receivers at his disposal.

“We don’t make any excuses,” Austin said. “You have to be careful bemoaning injuries because what you are at risk of doing is creating an environment with the next guy up that we are compromised, and there is an artificial excuse built in to not play well. We don’t do that here. The next guy up has to play at the same level as the previous guy. That’s why he is on the roster.”

With Fantuz out indefinitely, it’s on Tasker and Grant to ensure there is an element of leadership in the receiving corps.

“There is a level of comfort when you have a guy on your team like Andy,” Tasker said. “You have that in the huddle and we’re all going to miss that. There is some learning we have to do to make up for the things he did in our offence.

“Bakari and I have a lot of communication on the field and we can help with making sure we are all on the same page. It’s especially important for us to make sure our communication is quick and on-point.”

All the while, Tasker will try to put distance between himself and his hamstring injury and return to his proper playing condition, both physically and mentally.

“I’m not totally satisfied,” Tasker said. “It was a frustrating process. Everybody who plays football knows what that is like. It’s part of the sport and I really just want to come back and have it behind me.”

TALKIN' UP TOLIVER

What Kent Austin finds exciting about wide receiver Terrence Toliver are the possibilities that lie ahead.

“His best football is ahead of him,” Austin, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ head coach and general manager, said on Wednesday. “He is on the trajectory we were hoping for as far as his understanding of the game goes. He is making more plays, thinking less, playing the game faster, all those things you want with a new receiver.”

Six games into the 2015 regular season, the 6-foot-5, 203-pound Toliver, to this point, has proven to be a wise addition. Signed in April, he has caught 23 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns. Only veteran Bakari Grant has more receiving yards (389) and TDs (four) for Hamilton.

Toliver, a 27-year-old Texas native, has found a football home after wandering through the NFL since his college career at Lousiana State ended in 2010. At various times, Toliver was on the roster of the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans.

“He has adjusted well,” Austin said. “The good news about Terrence is that he is a quick learner and he has football intelligence. He can get a lot better and he understands that.”