REGINA — With all the issues the Saskatchewan Roughriders have had with injuries to elite players over the last few weeks, the news isn’t all bad for the club heading into their CFL match-up with the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night.
The team revealed Thursday that defensive back Nelson Lokombo will be making his long-awaited return to the line-up after recovering from an ankle injury that’s limited him to only two games this season.
The former U of S Huskies standout gets back onto the field at a good time, too, as the aforementioned injuries have done a number on the defensive secondary and left that crew missing a handful of their top players — including standouts Rolan Milligan Jr. and Tevaughn Campbell, both of whom are now on the six-game injured list.
Still, Lokombo expects little will change even with his return, especially given the Riders’ next-man-up mentality and how it’s served them well through the recent tough times.
“That's always been the motto,” Lokombo said after practice earlier this week. “Everybody at the end of the day is a professional, so whenever you get injuries like that, they're very tough, but it's a next man mentality and whoever's coming in to step up has to be ready.”
Lokombo was on the cusp of making his return last week, but just couldn’t quite go. That added another game to what’s been a long stretch on the sidelines, but he took it all in stride, as he has throughout the recovery process.
“Just being around the guys, still mentally making sure I'm checked in, making sure I'm still studying like I'm playing,” Lokombo said of how he kept busy around the team. “I love football, so I love being around the stadium, around the guys. So it's definitely hard to be out, but it's also easier when you have a group of guys like that to be around.”
That time around the team has Lokombo hoping to see as little rust as possible once he’s back on the field, especially since he was still part of the meetings in the lead-up to each contest he missed.
“Just staying dialed in in meeting rooms, still continuing those conversations with those guys and still giving them pointers as well,” Lokombo said. “Talking about different concepts and different plays and how we're going to play them so that when I'm back, it's not a big drop off.”
Riders head coach Corey Mace was naturally happy to see his veteran DB work his way back into the line-up
“He’s practiced a couple of weeks here and is looking better and better,” Mace said. “It certainly helps us having a veteran back there who has played for us in the past, but ultimately there are a few things we're working on here and we’ll see how we roll.”
Had things stayed the same in the secondary all season, Lokombo would likely have seen himself back in his original position at free safety. Instead, Regina product Jaxon Ford has done such an admirable job back there that Lokombo has moved out to the strong-side corner.
That versatility is something he takes pride in.
“That’s one of the things I take personal,” he said. ”I think I can play every position and t's just a credit to the coaching staff that they trust me to go out there and play those positions. I definitely wear that as a sense of pride and I love doing that.”
That ability also comes from experience, and as the player with the most continuous time with the Riders — with Lokombo in his fifth season with Saskatchewan — it certainly doesn’t hurt that he has a pretty good grasp of what he has to do out there just through time on the field.
“I definitely feel like I have those leadership qualities and I like having some of the guys lean on me and ask me questions,” Lokombo said. “It's cool to see where I've come from, from being that rookie and being that young guy on the team to now being one of the vets. So it's definitely been nice to see that progression.”
As for what the winless Redblacks might have to offer on Friday, Lokombo joins the rest of the Riders in doing what they can to not underestimate Ottawa.
“We just keep doing our jobs, that's really what it comes down to,” he said. “Everybody understands that even though Ottawa is not where they want to be, they're still a professional team and they're going to come in and do their jobs, right? So we got to be ready for that and continue to do ours.”
The Roughriders Broadcast Network is on the air at 4 p.m. on Friday with the pregame show, and Dave Thomas and Luc Mullider will have the game call at kickoff at 7 p.m.
