From Montreal to Rick and Morty
Defensive lineman Luke enjoys comedy, cartoons and winning titles
Junior Luke made the move to Vancouver this year after being selected seventh overall by the B.C. Lions in the 2017 CFL Draft. This week, the 25-year-old defensive lineman goes one-on-one with Cam Tucker in the B.C. Lions’ Blitz Q&A, where they discuss winning the Vanier Cup with the Universite de Montreal Carabins, the popular TV show The Big Bang Theory, cartoons and growing up in Montreal.
Q: You’ve played in the Vanier Cup with Montreal. What was it like to win that championship?
A: It was a great experience. I went to Montreal University to win a championship and help the team win at least one championship. Getting there and just playing at home, it was just a fantastic scene. All of the fans there, it was really packed. It was great for us to win that and I want to do the same thing here.”
You’re from Montreal. How did it feel to play college football (and win) in your hometown?
It definitely helped. I had a lot of offers elsewhere, but I just wanted to stay home and stay close to my friends and close to my family. I think it was the best decision I ever made.
Did you have offers from both Canadian and American schools?
Yeah … there was Buffalo and Connecticut. It was kind of a hard decision for me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to the States or stay here, and I just (made) the decision and it was the best decision for me.
Your bio says you’re a big Big Bang Theory fan?
I like it. I don’t know what episode I’m at. I like watching cartoons a lot, too. I don’t really like watching reality TV shows. Big Bang Theory is a good one because I find it funny, but other than that it’s more cartoons than anything. So what’s your favourite cartoon? Right now it’s called Rick and Morty. (Breaks out into laughter.) That one is pretty funny to me and I watch a little bit of anime, like Naruto a little bit. Watch Bleach. Do you do any illustrations? No, no, no. I’m not good at that — at all.
Montreal, it’s quite a diverse city. What was it like growing up there?
It wasn’t that bad. Grew up with my mom. I’m an only child, lived with my mom since forever. My mom and dad weren’t married, but I’ve stayed with her since I was born. Now I’m here, but once I go back (to Montreal) I’ll live with her. It’s been me and my mom since Day 1. It’s been a great childhood for me. I went to a great school, I wasn’t getting into trouble. I moved to Laval (Que.) because my mom just wanted me to stay steady and focus on my own thing and that’s where I started playing football. That’s where I met my coach. He asked me if I wanted to play football, I said, ‘Yes,’ and since then I’ve been successful at it. To go seventh overall in the draft, what did that mean to you?
It definitely means a lot, but it’s another opportunity for me to show I can play in this league, play at that level. It was special for me because it was my last year in Montreal and all of the things that happened during that — workouts, going to the States for mini-camps and Bowl games — and I think it was special for me and my friends to see all of that hard work has paid off. Did you have a draft party? We did have a little party — all the draft picks, altogether at my school. We were all together, just watching on TV and any time someone got drafted, we were all screaming, celebrating with everybody. So it was fun.