Lombard pushing the Coyotes forward

Joey Lombard will tell you there is a special kind of environment surrounding the 2023 University of South Dakota football team. It’s a group that supports teammates and stays together through the tough moments of games and during a season. 

The starting center, who has one more year of eligibility in 2024, knows this week’s contest at No. 10 Southern Illinois represents an opportunity to show that these distinctive bonds translate into distinctive resilience. 

It’s time to move forward with enthusiasm after last week’s loss to No. 1 SDSU. It’s time to prove overcoming discouragement is also a team strength in 2023.

“That game meant a lot to us, but we understand the next one is even bigger now because it’s the game at hand,” said Lombard, a graduate of Anoka (Minn.) High School. “We’ve taken the loss and turned it into fuel so that we don’t have to feel this way again.”

Lombard is one of the Coyotes’ leaders on offense. As the center he is in the middle of everything in a literal sense, but it goes beyond that. As offensive line coach Jeff Nady explained:

“We were anxious as coaches to see how our team would respond to last week,” Nady said. “We wanted to see how they would try to get back on track. Joey, as one of our more vocal leaders, seemed to understand what we need now. It’s just one game, it’s a long season and you have to continue to find ways to get better.

“We’re having success on the season as a whole and the buy-in we need is there. We had very physical practices this week on Tuesday and Wednesday and Joey was leading the charge on that physicality.”

A year ago the Coyotes had given up 31 sacks at this point in the season. This year they’ve given up seven. It’s one of the tangible ways of measuring USD’s improvement in the offensive line. The win-loss record and a playoff berth will always be the ultimate way of measuring their success, of course.

“We all understand that there is more to work on,” Lombard said. “We’ve done some good things but we’re imperfect at the same time. The idea that we can come out and improve every day has always been there for us. We want to come out and be the more violent group every game. That’s how we want to be known. That’s what we’ve tried to make our identity.”

Lombard was a very large multi-sport athlete at Anoka, a northern suburb of the Twin Cities that competes in Minnesota’s largest class in all sports. At 6-5 and around 300 pounds in high school, he was an all-conference basketball player and also a varsity lacrosse player.

There’s a good chance he can claim the title of best lacrosse player on the offensive line, though there will be no attempt made to verify this. His athletic versatility in high school came about because he was and is very competitive – plus, he just liked sports. He liked being part of teams.

“I think it’s very important to go out and play every sport you can, especially in high school,” Lombard said. “There are the relationships you build and the work ethic you build and the sense of accountability. There are so many good things about playing sports, plus it’s just fun and you can only do it so long. I love football and it’s my dream to keep playing but I definitely miss high school basketball.”

When asked to assess his game as a basketball player, he approached the request humbly. He wasn’t a tall center by Minnesota high school standards but at 300 pounds as a senior, he presented unique challenges to the opposition.

“I had a little flash but I was mostly just a big guy down in the paint with my back to the basket,” he said. “The big guys have to be careful, though, because when you’re bigger than a lot of kids you don’t have to do much to get into foul trouble – so I had to play with a little finesse, too, sometimes.”

A quick google search reveals he went for 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 71-69 win over Andover in December of 2018. He wasn’t just a big guy taking up space, then, even if the officials never gave him a break. 

Lombard already has his degree in business administration and is pursuing his masters. He has pledged to continue to pursue a career as a football player beyond college. When that segment of his life is complete he’ll take his degrees and decide on a career. Until then, football and education will be his top priorities. 

His father, Paul, was a football player at Minnesota-Duluth. Though the elder Lombard played before Coyote coach Bob Nielson began coaching the Bulldog program, Joey went to UMD games with his dad while Nielson was winning national championships. 

“I always thought that was pretty cool,” Lombard said.  “Then it came full circle when it turns out I was playing for him years later. When I was being recruited I wanted to be part of a place that wasn’t going to just put me through my four years and then send me on my way. I really felt like this school wanted the best for me and was willing to invest their resources into me so that I could be a better football player, a better student and a better man.”

Nady, himself a former lineman at Nevada who got NFL tryouts and played in the Arena League, anticipates Lombard will receive interest from the professionals when it’s time for that. Until then, he likes having him on the team.

“He’s a big strong kid but where he is most valuable for us is in his knowledge of the game,” Nady said. “He allows us as coaches to do some pretty complex stuff in the run game and in pass protection. A lot of that is based on what he can handle at that spot. We put a lot on his plate and he has taken it in stride.”