A biology student at UMass Dartmouth told the paper that Tsarnaev was "quiet," although she did not know him well.
The father of the Tsarnaev brothers spoke to the Associated Press by telephone on Friday from Makhachkala.
"My son is a true angel," Anzor Tsarnaev told the the AP. He said Dzhokhar was a medical student in the United States and described him as an "intelligent boy."
Dzhokhar was a wrestler at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge, Mass, USA Today's Natalie DiBlasio reports. He was also honored as student athlete of the month.
A high school classmate told USA Today that Dzhokhar was a "funny, sweet, goofy kid."