Bo Lokombo can’t wait for the start of the 2021 CFL season but it’s not necessarily for the reason you’d expect.
The B.C. Lions are scheduled to visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Week 1 for a matchup at Mosaic Stadium on August 6. The game will see the veteran linebacker face-off against his younger brother, Nelson, who will be making his CFL debut.
“I’m so excited, man. I’m really excited for him,” said Bo in a videoconference. “I know he plays on defence as well, so we won’t be competing against each other but maybe we’ll catch each other on special teams and I already told him, ‘If I see you on the field, if I’m matching up against you, I’m not taking it easy on you.'”
Nelson was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 CFL Draft out of the University of Saskatchewan. He’s expected to take on a large role with the Riders as the team looks to start two Canadian defensive backs — one at safety and one at field-side cornerback.
“It’s a great time for him, he’s excited,” said Bo. “Saskatchewan is like his second home, so it won’t be too much of a change for him. I know he’s looking forward to it. We’ve been training pretty much this whole time during COVID and he’s ready to get on the field. I’m just really proud of him.”
The brothers were raised in Abbotsford, B.C. and born over eight years apart. There is also a significant size discrepancy between the two — Bo is six-foot-two and 230 pounds, while Nelson checks is at five-foot-eleven and 190 pounds. The size mismatch makes Bo’s promise not to go easy on his little brother all the more menacing if the pair match-up on special teams.
Bo is entering his sixth CFL season and fifth with B.C. He was a member of the Alouettes in 2019 and would have played for Toronto had the 2020 season not been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He signed back with the Lions as a free agent in February 2021 after he was released by the Argonauts.
The Oregon product has recorded 155 defensive tackles, 68 special teams tackles, five sacks, four interceptions, and two forced fumbles through 76 career CFL games.
Bo also spent a year in the NFL with Baltimore, Las Vegas, and San Francisco in 2017, though he did not dress for a regular season games.
