After traveling a long road to wind up in Eugene, Ducks outside linebacker Boseko Lokombo has settled in as a productive member of the defense. Lokombo was born in the Congo and emigrated to Canada as a young child, coming to Oregon from Abbotsford, British Columbia. He redshirted last season but quickly made a mark in fall camp, becoming a permanent fixture of the linebacker rotation. This season, Lokombo has made 19 tackles (1.5 for loss), with two pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. He returned one fumble 32 yards for a touchdown against Arizona State.
Oregon Daily Emerald: The Oregon football team enjoyed a bye week before its contest against UCLA. How did you spend it?
Boseko Lokombo: We didn’t do anything special. We weren’t practicing. We just relaxed, got off our feet, trying to rest up. Everybody just kind of hung out. It was good.
ODE: If you had a free day away from football, how would you spend it?
BL: If football wasn’t really a concern — you’ve got to take care of school. That’s one thing. But once I’m done with my school stuff I just like to hang out. I play video games a lot with my friends. I like to watch movies. Recently I just saw Paranormal Activity 2. That was pretty scary. But you know, just hang out with friends and have Madden tournaments, NCAA (Football) tournaments.
ODE: Are you a fan of scary movies?
BL: Yeah, I like scary movies. I like funny movies.
ODE: Any particular favorites?
BL: Paranormal Activity 2 was pretty good. Another good movie that I saw was Hereafter. That was good, too. I just kind of watch everything. No specific favorites.
ODE: Who are the best gamers on this team?
BL: I’ve played my friend (offensive tackle) Everett Benyard, and he’s pretty good. He’s got me on a couple games. I play Nicholas Cole. I’ve heard that (freshman linebacker Isaac) Ava is really good too. Some of the older guys are good. Avery Patterson’s pretty good. Lavasier Tuinei’s pretty good too. There’s some good players there.
ODE: You played high school football in Canada before coming to Oregon. Do you think more American colleges will recruit football players from Canada in the future?
BL: I think so, yeah. I think it’s starting to develop like that. I think Canadian football is getting better, too. It’s nice to see.
ODE: You’ve played high school football in the U.S. (at South Eugene High School, his junior season) and Canada. Is there a gap between the two in terms of level of play?
BL: No, not really. I think the biggest thing is just talent and the speed of the game. I think it’s starting to resemble American football.
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