Aussie rules in play when it comes to punting for the Calgary Stampeders

Cody Grace was a CFL Western Division all-star with the Calgary Stampeders in 2021 and there were high expectations for the Australian punter in 2022.

But Grace pulled a muscle while warming up on Sunday, and that left the Stamps scrambling to find a new punter for Thursday's season opener against the Montreal Alouettes.

Enter fellow Australian punter Jimmy Smith, who the Stamps acquired from the Saskatchewan Roughriders over the weekend.

On Sunday he was at a border in Montana getting his work permit to play for the Saskatchewan Roughrider. Hours later, he found out he was traded to the Stampeders.

Smith says it was a wild ride.

"Got back to the dorm (in Regina) and got a call from Saskatchewan general manger (Jeremy O'Day) and he said, 'I've got something to run by you in about 10 minutes if you're at the dorm.'  I said yep I'll be at the dorms and he was like, 'you've been traded to Calgary,'" Smith said.

"I was like, no worries, when do I need to be there?  He said, 'they're about to call you' and then about two hours later I was on a plane to Calgary and arrived late Sunday night after a few delays and at practice on Monday morning, so it's been a bit of a whirlwind experience. Bit of a crash course in Calgary special teams but happy to be here."

NOT AN EASY TRADE

It wasn't exactly an easy deal to pull off on such short notice. The Stamps acquired the 27-year-old punter from the Riders for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2023 CFL draft and a third-round pick in the 2023 global draft.

Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson says he was relieved to get it done.

"We tried basically to adjust on the fly.  It was a lot of work," Dickenson said.

"I know Saskatchewan believes in Jimmy Smith and so we had to obviously give up a little bit to get him."

Smith is 195 centimetres (6'5") tall and weighs 106 kilograms (235 pounds) and learned the North American game at the University of Cincinnati.

Smith says having Grace here helped make the transition to Calgary a lot easier.

"It's good having a guy like Cody here who can help you a long a little bit and teach you everything you need to know. I knew Cody beforehand which was good," Smith said.

"So yeah, just got a crash course a little bit and a bit of scheme stuff and things like that and just got out here and hit some balls."

GOOD ALL AROUND KICKER

So what can fans expect to see from Smith when he lines up against Montreal on Thursday night? Smith says he can pretty well do it all when it comes to punting.

"I like to call it a mixed bag. You've got to have plenty of clubs in your arsenal sort of thing," he said.

"You've got to have the long one for when you're backed up, the short controlled one when you have to pin it deep and you always have to be good with direction and hang time so I like having a mixed bag."

ADVICE FROM GRACE

Even though Smith will be taking Grace's job until he comes back, the two are friends and Smith says Grace had these words of advice for him when he learned he was coming to Calgary.

"Just have fun with it. Just go out there and swing for it. He said an opportunity is here so you've got to have fun with it. So yeah, it's good to have that in your corner as well."

Grace went for an MRI on Monday for the pulled muscle but the Stamps are still waiting to hear the significance of the injury.