He is their safe-house. Their linchpin. A reassuring constant in a traditionally turbulent sea of change.

The pass-defending equivalent of that blue security blanket Linus clings to so tightly in the Peanuts comic strip.

“I know I sleep better at night,’’ acknowledges Calgary secondary coach Kahlil Carter, “knowing Brandon Smith is going to be back there.”

Quiet, unassuming, the No. 28 in your game-day program over this last decade has become easy to take for granted.

Too often that is the fate of familiarity coupled with consummate competency.

Saturday when the Toronto Argonauts come a-calling, only days after the 33 candles on his latest birthday cake were extinguished, Smith will be making his second start – and playing his third game – of the 2017 season after opening on the six-game injured list.

His longevity and professionalism, the ability to remain vibrant and stave off all challenges, should be the model for all others to emulate.

“Julian Battle,’’ replies Smith unhesitatingly, when asked whose spot he snared back in 2008 to begin this extended run. “He got hurt during training camp or was vetting it up for a new coaching staff. Anyway, they threw me in there when he went down.

“Never looked back.”

Smith during 2017 training camp (Photo by Angela Burger)

Smith seems to have been around McMahon Stadium longer than Les Miz on London’s West End. The Argos clash marks Smith’s 134th regular-season game through 10 seasons modelling Stampeder colours.

“It’s good to be with one organization for this amount of time,’’ he reckons. “To be reliable, be dependable. Yeah, I think that’s something to be proud of.

“But you can never stand still.

“We all know in this game, nothing is guaranteed. You have to go out there and be reliable, be dependable, week in and week out.

“I come in every year, every practice, like I’m competing for a job. I’ve been here a while but that’s still how I approach the game. You don’t have a choice.

“We have a good scouting department, they’re bringing in a lot of solid young talent all the time and that means you’ve always got to be on your toes.

“I don’t take anything for granted. Those guys may be younger and faster, so I have to be that mentor, the one with experience, who knows the game.”

That is an intangible that cannot be underrated.

“He always knows there’s always going to be a young guy gunning for his spot,’’ says Carter. “He was that young guy himself once. Everyone was.

“It’s that rule, you know, the baseball guy. What’s his name …? Yeah … Wally Pipp. The Wally Pipp Rule.

“Give up your place, you may never get it back.”

Pipp, famously, surrendered his first-base spot – rumoured to be because of a headache – on the New York Yankees to Lou Gehrig, beginning the Iron Horse’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games.

Smith talks with Coach Dickenson during training camp (Photo by Molly Campbell)

“When I got here, with the older guys, (Josh) Bell and Brandon, I expected there to be a barrier,’’ admits rookie safety Tunde Adeleke. “But they are 100 per cent helpful. They’re confident enough in their own abilities to want you to get better.

“It’s great having a football mind like Brandon’s on the field beside you. He’s really someone to look up. Being with the same team your whole career, at one position? That’s the dream, right?

“And he’s such a loved guy on this team. We’re lucky, I’m lucky, he’s here.”

So happy belated 33rd birthday, No. 28. May there be many more. And many, many more seasons as the blue security blanket of the Stampeders’ defensive secondary. Long may you reign.

“Brandon,’’ lauds Carter, “is probably one of the toughest DBs I’ve ever coached, or even when I think of guys I played with.

“He gives you the mental toughness, physical game-play, leadership and attention to detail you want out of a veteran guy. Having four ex-players on our coaching staff, we understand the type of character and resolve it takes to continue to play for 10 years.

“Think of that. Ten years, on one team, in one league. It’s unheard of now, especially in the age of free agency.

“But it shows the degree of his dedication to our organization. For that, we’ve done the same in kind, showing him loyalty and respect. Which is why he’s still wearing Red and White. Proudly, I might add.

“As long as I’m here, I know I’d love having No. 28 in uniform.

“And, yes, at 33 he is playing against Father Time.

“But right now, he’s still winning.”