Rookie running back Smith on familiar ground at Toronto Argonauts rookie camp

GUELPH — Isaiah Smith has plenty to get acclimated to in his first pro football camp, but the Toronto Argonauts’ training facility isn’t one of them.

The six-foot-one, 230-pound running back was among 64 players at Toronto’s rookie camp Wednesday. But Smith, of Burlington, Ont., had no trouble getting the lay of the land in and around Alumni Stadium after playing collegiately for the Guelph Gryphons (2022-25).

Knowing where the cafeteria is, and the quickest way to get there, are definite advantages.

“I know how to get there and get to the food first,” Smith said with broad smile. “Familiarity is great.

“I’m able to pull up right to the stadium, I know where everything is, I know what the field layout is and how it is and that’s always good. It’s great to basically feel comfortable so I’m there to play football and that’s it.”

Toronto selected Smith in the second round, No. 11 overall, in the CFL draft April 28. He’s the Argos’ top draftee at this camp as Queen’s offensive lineman Niklas Henning — taken second overall — recently signed with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.

Smith ran for 464 yards on 67 carries (6.9-yard average) and four touchdowns in 10 games (including playoffs) last season while adding 29 catches for 378 yards and two TDs. Smith played a big role in Guelph’s upset 18-17 Ontario Universities Association (OUA) quarterfinal win over Western, rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries while registering four catches for 46 yards.

He added 51 yards rushing on 11 carries in Guelph’s 37-30 OUA semifinal loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Smith was the OUA’s top rookie in 2022 after running for 495 yards and three touchdowns on 85 carries (5.8-yard average) in seven games. He appeared in 21 career regular-season games at Guelph, running for 880 yards on 141 carries (6.2-yard average) with five touchdowns.

Toronto averaged a CFL-low 51.6 yards rushing last season. But as a rookie, Smith will have to cut his teeth with the Argos on special teams.

“Absolutely, not an issue,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, if I know I’m going to be in the right spot and doing the right thing, I already know I’ve won half the battle.

“After that, I know the guy across from me, especially being in the CFL and being a professional, is trying to feed his family and I’m trying to do the same. Now that physicality is going to be brought to where I have to make sure I beat him every single rep and that’s all it’s going to be.”

Mike Miller, Toronto’s first-year head coach, said Smith’s physicality impressed the CFL club.

“He’s an outstanding player, and to this point — I always like to say it that way — he just seems to be a better person,” Miller said. “We want that character, we’re always talking about our culture and building that locker room but he’s also a kid that’s going to play physical.

“We’re pushing and striving to be a very physical football team. The physical things he put out there we just were big fans of and then you get to know the person and it just takes it to another level.”

Smith said his first pro practice was daunting at first before settling into yet another on-field session.

“Initially coming out here I was a little worried, I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “But at the end of the day it was just a regular football practice, the same thing I did the last four years at Guelph.”

But Miller said there’s plenty for CFL rookies to learn.

“I think the biggest thing is just putting in the systems, getting them acquainted with our expectations and how we want them to work,” Miller said. “The communication we want and starting to understand adjustments that we want to make.

“And then, really, the fundamentals we want to play with, the drill work, the techniques we talk about, and implementing those and doing so on a consistent basis.”

Smith has simple expectations for 2026.

“Become a contributor on special teams, become a contributor on offence and make a CFL roster,” he said. “That would be great.”

NOTES: Quarterback Chad Kelly’s wife, Theresa, delivered the couple’s second child Wednesday, a girl. Miller said Kelly will report Sunday when training camp opens. Kelly missed the ’25 season after suffering a leg injury in the ’24 East final but Miller added Kelly is healthy and will be Toronto’s starter once he reports.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2026.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press