He caught up with the T&A after last weekend’s Superbowl success for the Philadelphia Eagles, as he prepares for the upcoming season with Krefeld Ravens in the German Football League.

One of Europe’s top leagues, Smillie hopes a good season there will help him get a chance in the more prestigious Canadian Football League and perhaps one day, even the NFL.

The 26-year-old, who is hoping to help Krefeld get into the top-flight, told the T&A: “We’ve just been promoted into the second tier of the German Football League.

“The season starts in May and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I specialise as a running back but I can also line up in the defence, so I can play on both sides of the ball.”

As for his long-term goals, he said: “In American football, the biggest league in the world is the NFL, but the Canadian Football League is the one below that.

“You’ve always got to believe in yourself, and any time the call comes to make the step up, you have to be ready for it.

“That goes for any athlete, you have to believe that any time is right.

“Whether I got a call tomorrow or in three years to say I’ve been given my chance in the CFL, I have to be ready for it.”

Jacob Smillie believes he can keep climbing the American football ladder, and is ready to take his next big chance whenever it comes. (Image: Stan Dziama Photography.)

An obvious source of inspiration for Smillie is Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive lineman Jordan Mailata, who last week became the first-ever Australian to win the Superbowl.

Mailata grew up playing rugby league in South Sydney Rabbitohs’ academy, but he changed tack and joined the NFL’s international player pathway in 2018.

He impressed so much that he was drafted by the Eagles that year, despite having never played a snap in his life before, and the rest is history.

Discussing Mailata’s life-changing career move, Smillie said: “The way I see it, you can make the switch between rugby league and American football, but you have to be a good, versatile athlete.

“You need to have that athletic background, which separates the likes of Jordan, Christian Wade and Louis Rees-Zammit from the rest.

“They’re all pure athletes, which means they’d do a good job regardless of what sport they tried, like playing football in the street.

“Good athletes can switch and do different sports, and for me, you need that background if you want to convert from one to another.”

Smillie’s conversion was a huge decision, given he has previously played international rugby league for Jamaica and in the 1895 Cup with Halifax.

But asked if he would ever go back to rugby league in the future, the Bradfordian said: “My goal right now is just to aim for the highest level possible in American football.

“The CFL is the obvious aim for me, but I want to push for the US or Canada really, the highest level I can possibly reach.”