Hula Bowl lands Wildcats' Souza

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Northwestern tackle Mike Souza, a 1997 Punahou School graduate, accepted an invitation yesterday to play in the Hula Bowl Maui.

The Hula Bowl is set for Feb. 2 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, Maui.

"I've been gone from Hawai'i for a while and it feels good to come back," Souza said in a telephone interview from Chicago.

Souza, 6 feet 6 and 297 pounds, made 37 consecutive starts for the Wildcats. After red-shirting his freshman year, he played eight games the following season. He started the final four games in 1998 and has not missed a start since.

Souza, who is from Kane'ohe, said he is looking forward to playing at home.

"I'll come back for Christmas for a week or two, but in the past 4 1/2 years, I haven't been in the islands much. I've been working out in Chicago. Our coaches are pretty strict about that. There's not that much time off."

Souza, who was an all-state lineman at Punahou, said he hopes the Hula Bowl will expose him to NFL scouts and get him an invitation to an NFL combine.

"I'm an offensive lineman and it's hard to get noticed because we have no stats," he said. "Our coaches aren't too big about media exposure; they're very old school about getting the word out on players. June Jones does a good job at the University of Hawai'i. The kids (at UH) are lucky to have a coach that promotes them."

Still, Souza has no regrets of his decision to attend Northwestern, a member of the Big Ten. He will graduate next month with a degree in political science. If football does not pan out, Souza will search for other options.

"I'm looking for a job in the financial sector in Chicago," he said. "Eventually, I'll move back to Hawai'i. I'm used to (living in Chicago), but there's no place like home, no place like Hawai'i. There's no L & L Drive-Inn here."