SASKATOON — Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back Nelson Lokombo feels right at home as his Canadian Football League team goes through their training camp paces at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.
A former USports top defensive player with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies back in 2019, Lokombo is currently plying his trade in his fifth training camp with the Riders, having played many a game on the same field he’s working on right now.
That’s made for a comfortable situation for the 27-year-old Abbotsford, B.C. product, and a special one as Lokombo gets ready to take the field in Saskatchewan's second preseason game on Saturday, May 23 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Starting at safety in Monday's preseason opener – a 20-15 loss to the Calgary Stampeders – Lokombo had the Riders' lone interception, diving at the Saskatchewan goal line to pick off an overthrown ball from Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.
“It'll be cool for sure,” Lokombo told Roughriders play-by-play announcer Dave Thomas after a recent camp practice. “Last time I played was in 2019 here, so it's been a long time and I'm sure it's going to be packed. So I'm excited for this opportunity to just to get to play a football game here. It'll bring back a lot of memories.”
Lokombo is no stranger to this time of year, having been through four training camps before, but it’s always good to get back on the field and back to work after an off-season of preparation.
“It's been great so far, it's nice to get back in rhythm with the guys and seeing things play out the way they have,” Lokombo said. “It's fun to fly around out there and always nice to be back in Saskatoon.”
There’s naturally been a bit of a different feel to the camp proceedings this time around, in no small part to what the reigning Grey Cup champions accomplished last season — a campaign where Lokombo saw action in 11 games, recording 21 tackles, two special teams tackles and recording his first CFL interception in the process.
That could make things a bit more relaxed around the team, especially for veterans of the victory, but things have been especially competitive right from the get go, something that doesn’t surprise Lokombo in the least.
“I think it's refresh and reload and treating every day, every week just to get better,” Lokombo said. “That's really the goal for every day is to get better, to improve individually and as a team. So you attack every day just to win. That's kind of the mentality you have to have.”
Getting everything on the same page with old and new players alike is also something that’s key at this time of year, especially with the many off-season line-up changes that took place.
“It's just getting guys to figure out what we're all about,” Lokombo explained. “A lot of those guys that will be filling in some of those spots have been here for a long time. They know what it takes to be champions and they know what it takes to win the day. So every day is just bettering themselves, bettering yourself individually as a player. So that's really how you attack that.”
The Roughriders have a bit of a schedule quirk in that they play their two exhibition games five days apart and will then have three weeks without a game before taking the field against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium in their regular season opener June 13. That’s something Lokombo feels will take a bit of adjusting to, but won’t be too much of an issue.
“For one, it's just making sure that you're mentally ready,” Lokombo said of working through the extra time off. “You got everything in your mind as far as football knowledge stuff and being dialed in in the playbook and then also making sure that your body's right. We have a lot of time to make sure that the body is good for Week 1 and then we can play ball.”
