Lokombo joins elite list of Huskie draft picks
It was a big night for University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskie football in Tuesday’s Canadian Football League (CFL) draft.
Defensive back Nelson Lokombo was drafted second overall by the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, the first of three Huskies selected, along with offensive lineman Connor Berglof (third round, 24th overall, by the Ottawa Redblacks) and safety Josh Hagerty (47th overall, sixth round, by the Toronto Argonauts).
While the 2020 Canadian university football season was cancelled due to the pandemic, Tuesday’s draft was the first step in returning to the football field this fall for the CFL and U Sports, provided public health measures are approved.
“Often we throw around a lot of superlatives about athletes, like tough, resilient and smart but that absolutely does describe these guys. Having their 2020 season taken away from them and missing out on an opportunity to really shine has been tough,” said Huskies head coach Scott Flory. “These guys have fought through, they’ve battled. They are humble, hard-working, low maintenance guys and I’m so proud of how focused they’ve been.”
Lokombo was the 2019 U Sports Defensive Player of the Year and is one of four Huskies drafted either first or second overall, joining Dan Farthing (second overall, 1991), Dylan Barker (first overall, 2008) and Ben Heenan (first overall, 2012). Lokombo is the seventh Huskie ever drafted in the first round and will join former teammate Mattland Riley with the Roughriders, who selected him seventh overall last year.
More on Tuesday’s draft is available on the Huskies website.