Lake Korte-Moore was so excited to receive a university diploma that he couldn’t keep his feet on the ground.
Only four hours after Friday’s spring graduation ceremonies began at the University of British Columbia, the Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman — the proud new owner of a degree in sociology — was airborne and destined for Edmonton.
The next afternoon, Korte-Moore registered two tackles for a loss in the Roughriders’ 28-27 CFL pre-season victory over the Elks.
“It was an awesome moment,” he said of Friday’s ceremonies at UBC. “It was nice to see my family really quickly, because I haven’t seen them all camp. Then to come back and play a good game on Saturday and come out with the win was huge.”
The 6-foot-4, 262-pounder starred for the UBC Thunderbirds before being selected by Saskatchewan in the first round (third overall) of the 2023 CFL Draft.
After graduating to the pro ranks, Korte-Moore still had to apply the finishing touches to his degree.
“This off-season, I still had three courses left, so I went back to UBC and lived there,” the Ottawa-born lineman said. “I finished the three courses and worked out the entire time at UBC with the team there and with our strength and conditioning coach there.”
At the same time, he was keeping in touch with the Roughriders’ new Head Coach/Defensive Co-ordinator (Corey Mace) and Defensive Line Coach (Phillip Daniels).
That led to plenty of studying, as Korte-Moore pored through textbooks while also immersing himself in the Roughriders’ new defensive scheme.
“It has been awesome to learn the playbook here and to learn everything from Coach Mace and Coach Daniels,” Korte-Moore said. “They have both taught me so much already.
“During the off-season, I was learning the playbook and going to school, so to get the school load off has definitely been nice.”
With the blessing of Mace and Vice-President of Football Operations/General Manager Jeremy O’Day, Korte-Moore flew to Vancouver on Thursday — when the final Saskatoon-based workout of Coors Light Training Camp was held.
Korte-Moore appreciates the allowances that were made to enable him to celebrate a notable academic achievement.
“It was a great accomplishment, but I didn’t quite realize it until the moment when I got on that stage and I got my diploma and came off and saw how happy my family was,” said Korte-Moore, 24.
“To see everyone else graduating and how much it meant to them as well really made the moment more surreal.”
It also made all the long hours worthwhile.
“Being a student-athlete is a full-time job,” Korte-Moore said. “I think everyone who plays football and has gone to school knows that.
“You’ve got to manage the workouts. You’ve got to manage the class schedules, the time you put aside for homework, and things like that. You’ve also got to find some time for yourself sometimes.
“This off-season was good, because I feel like I got a lot better — and I also came out with my degree, too.”
