Luke Tasker

Luke Tasker
No. 17     Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Date of birth (1991-01-18) January 18, 1991
Place of birth East Aurora, New York
Career information
Status Active
CFL status International
Position(s) WR
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 191 lb (87 kg)
College Cornell
Career history
As player
2013 San Diego Chargers*
2013–present Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
CFL East All-Star 2014, 2015
Career stats

Lucas Steele Tasker (born January 18, 1991) is an American wide receiver who is currently playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Tasker was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2013. Tasker played college football at Cornell, and is the son of 7-time Pro Bowler and current CBS Sports color analyst Steve Tasker.

Early years

Tasker attended St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, New York. Tasker was named first team all-state in his Senior season as a defensive back. He was a team captain for his Junior and Senior seasons at high school.[1] Tasker also was selected as academic player of the year[1] and was a member of the Western New York all-academic team as a defensive back during his senior season in high school.[2]

College career

Tasker played college football at Cornell University, and majored in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.[1] He was an Honorable mention all-Ivy pick during his Junior season.[1] On September 15, 2012, In the season opening loss against Fordham in which he recorded 10 receptions to along with 177 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.[3] In the next game against Yale in which he had a team leading 10 receptions and a team leading 138 receiving yards along with two receiving touchdowns.[4] On October 16, 2012, he was named the Ivy League co-offensive player of the week along with Cornell Quarterback Chris Amrhein for his outstanding performance against Monmouth in which he had 11 receptions, a school record 280 receiving yards along with one receiving touchdown.[5] During his senior season, on October 27, 2012 in a regular season game against Princeton in which he had 10 receptions for 201 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns as Cornell beat the Princeton Tigers 37-35.[6] On November 20, 2012, he was selected to the Ivy league team during his Senior season.[7] He finished college with 171 receptions, 2,482 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns.[8]

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

On April 27, 2013, Tasker signed with the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent. However, Tasker did not make the team and was cut on August 30.[9]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Tasker signed to the practice roster with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League on September 17, 2013.[10] Tasker was reunited with Kent Austin (the head coach of the Tiger-Cats), who had been his head coach at Cornell University. He was moved to the active roster and made his CFL debut on September 28, 2013 against the Calgary Stampeders. He caught his first career touchdown in a 33–19 win over the Toronto Argonauts on October 4, 2013.[11] Tasker only appeared in 5 games for the Ti-Cats during his rookie season, finishing the year with 202 receiving yards on 13 catches with 1 touchdown. His second season in the CFL, the 2014 CFL season, was a breakout year for Luke Tasker. He led the team in receptions (72), receiving yards (937) and was tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns (5) along with Brandon Banks. Tasker was recognized for his successful season when he was named a CFL East All-Star for the 2014 season. Following the 2014 season Tasker passed up on an offer from the Green Bay Packers of the NFL and the agreed to a contract extension with the Ti-Cats.[12][13]

Personal life

He is the son of Steve and Sarah Tasker and has three brothers and one sister.[1] His father is Steve Tasker, who was a wide receiver and special teams player in the National Football League.[1]

Broadcast career

On March 11, 2014, Tasker joined the staff of WBBZ-TV as a sports reporter. He will serve in that capacity as he continues his playing career with the Tiger-Cats.[14] WBBZ canceled all of its sports programming no later than September 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Cornell profile". cornellbigred.com.
  2. ↑ "From The Past: All-WNY Team 2008". wgrz.com. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Cornell vs Fordham Box Score". foxsports.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Yale vs Cornell Box Score". foxsports.com. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Amrhein, Tasker Share Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week Honors". cornellbigred.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Princeton vs Cornell Box Score". foxsports.com. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Tasker, Tretter As Unanimous First-Teamers Highlights All-Ivy Football Team". cornellbigred.com. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Luke Tasker college statistics". washingtonpost.com.
  9. ↑ "Chargers cut LT Starks, 10 others". foxsports.com. August 30, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Tiger-Cats add WR Luke Tasker". ticats.ca. September 17, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Ticats thwart Argos comeback bid with road victory". TSN.ca. October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  12. ↑ Edwards, Drew. "Tasker makes the unusual (but smart) choice". The Scratching Post.
  13. ↑ "Tiger-Cats sign WR Tasker to contract extension". TSN.
  14. ↑ http://blogs.buffalonews.com/talkintv/2014/03/ranney-leaving-wbfo-wned-to-work-for-gallivan.html

External links

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