He took a long and sometimes frustrating path to a permanent roster spot with the BC Lions. Yet if you talk to Mat Boesen for just a couple of minutes, he would simply view the ordeal as a lesson learned. After emerging as one of the pleasant surprises when camp broke in Kamloops earlier this month, the long golden-haired 6-foot-4 defensive end finds he has to pinch himself to make sure he doesn’t wake up.
“Man, I’m loving it,” said Boesen of his time in the den.
“I like Canada a lot. It was a bit of an adjustment at first with the new rules and different style of play but now that I have four games (including pre-season) under my belt, I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable. The speed of the game has slowed down a little bit and I’m just working on my situational football. Once that starts coming together, it’s going to take off.”
Before we go on, it’s important to recap the short version of said path. After being let go from Boise State for disciplinary reasons, Boesen used it as a wake-up call and wound up at Long Beach Community College before catching on with Texas Christian where he would eventually set the school record for sacks in a game against rival Baylor. Despite those accolades, he found himself without a football home upon graduation and wound up taking a job as an Uber driver in his home of Torrance, California.
“That was a lot of fun, a great way to network,” explained Boesen of his temporary career.
Like many of us, he couldn’t believe the ridesharing craze has yet to hit his new home.
“I’ll stay up here all year round if you could get it here and I could be a driver,” chuckled Boesen.
Growing up in a beach community near Los Angeles presented no shortage of athletic options for the hulking defensive end. After moving to Torrance with his family from Minnesota when he was ten, Boesen did what most blonde Californians do: he took up surfing. He would ultimately credit his time in the wrestling ring for opening up his eyes to the game of football.
“I actually started playing right when I moved out to California,” he recalled.
“I had lots of success with wrestling and finished third in the state during my senior year. Early on, the competitive nature of wrestling turned me more on to football and that’s when I started playing on the defensive side of the ball.”
And if everything goes his way, he won’t need to drive anyone around in future winters. Boesen first arrived on the Lions radar after being released by the Buffalo Bills as part of their final roster cutdown in 2018 and after arriving in Kamloops as an unknown commodity, the former high school wrestling star found himself at the top of the depth chart. Yet another example of how you should never jump to conclusions upon your first glance at the training camp depth chart. Boesen couldn’t say enough good things about the guidance he has received from his teammates and coaches. You might want to say he is “Uber” motivated to keep getting better.
“It’s been an awesome group to be with,” explained Boesen.
“Odell Willis is a great leader and has shown me a lot about the game, mainly some of those Canadian rules I wasn’t used to yet. (Defensive line) coach (Chris) Ellis has been by my side the whole way and then, of course, there is Stubes. He is the godfather of all defensive coordinators. I’m a sponge when it comes to those guys. I try and listen to everything they tell me.”
After a couple of losses to open the season, Boesen and the defence have faced their share of the blame. The good news is they are embracing it head on and plan on taking out their frustrations on Bo Levi Mitchell and the Calgary Stampeders this weekend.
“We’re so anxious and just tired of what happened this first couple of weeks,” stated Benson.
“I may be new to this league, but I promise you we have too much talent on this team to be winless. We’re going to turn this ship around and get this thing rolling.”
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com