Walking around Bradford on a Saturday morning, most people are hitting the city centre shops or preparing for the Bantams match at Valley Parade. Yet on a small, frosted astroturf pitch at Trinity Green Sports Centre, Jacob Smillie is continuously running routes, practising his catching technique and absorbing information from his mentor with one goal in mind.
Play American Football stateside.
Smillie left behind a professional Rugby League career to pursue the dream of playing American Football and despite setbacks, he currently has his eyes set on a place in the newly formed International Professional Football Alliance (IFA) at their combine later this month.
“I’ve had eight weeks of prep, just working up to the 40 yard, the shuttle drills and even route running as well,” he said after a gruelling hour long session. “I’m always learning new stuff like receiver routes and trying to be the best player I can be. I’ve got to know that I’ve given 100% in training and that I’ll give it all on the day of the combine.”
Transition from Rugby at The Shay to Footie in Stuttgart
Like many American Football players in the UK game, rugby has given Smillie a strong foundation of skills. Being from the North, rugby league gave the winger his break when he signed professional terms from Halifax, before going on to play matches for Bradford Bulls, Swinton Lions and recently Wigan Warriors Reserves.
Caught on film for his speed and long range tries, he was courted by the NFL with an invite to the 2018 international combine. “I think I was the only person in the combine that was from up north out of 12 guys from the UK!” he joked.
Although he wasn’t picked up by a franchise, Smillie’s football journey didn’t stop there as he entered the Euro Leagues, which proved a new experience. “I did a mini camp with Stuttgart Surge and also spent some time with Silesia Rebels in Poland,” he reminisces. “They were really good opportunities to play in front of big crowds. The German Football League (GFL) final got 30,000 fans and the European League of Football (ELF) got 40,000 so it’s a big league and one that taught me so much.”
Adding value ahead of IFA combine
A running back by trade, Smillie has raw speed to burn and footwork and frame not too dissimilar to Zach Moss or Travis Etienne. Rather than just developing his run game though, he has looked to develop his receiving techniques and route running in the same ilk as first round draft pick Bijan Robinson.
Heading into the upcoming IFA combine, he stressed that ‘adding value’ can show recruiters that Smillie has different dimensions to his game, as well as a commitment to expand his knowledge beyond one position.
“The run game is really important, your blocking is important but going out wide and doing the receiver stuff from X or Z or the slot is too,” he said. “Look at Robinson at the Falcons, he’s changed the running back game, so I’ve been working on lining up in the slot, trying out some wide receiver stuff as well just to know that I’ve got other stuff in my locker.”
“It is only a matter of time before the sport fully takes over”
The NFL are currently celebrating the international diversity of its players and coaches during the two weeks between the circus departing London and arriving in Frankfurt, Germany as part of the ongoing international series.
With over 70 nations represented in the league, including nine UK players led by Washington Commanders defensive end Efe Obada and New York Giants kicker Graham Gano, and the growing presence of the NFL Academy, Smillie believes that opportunities to play football in America will only grow.
“It’s about getting more people from other sports involved and growing it up north. A lot of guys up here think that it is confusing to learn but if they sit down, they’ll understand it and enjoy it,“ he says. “The college programmes are starting to look at people like me and thinking that I can do it so it makes that pathway alongside the NFL Academy now. I think it is only a matter of time before the sport fully takes over.”
Smillie heads to Cologne, Germany on 10th December to take part in the only European combine ahead of the IFA season beginning next year. Having already held combines in California, Florida, Texas and Atlanta, players are out to impress one of six teams across both the USA (Dallas, El Paso and San Diego) and Mexico (Guadalajara, Juárez City, Cancún) to be on the field when the inaugural season kicks off in 2024.
