Tulane QB exudes wave of confidence
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
For the record, the Tulane football team knows that fame is fleeting.
Associated Press
According to quarterback J.P. Losman, offensive line coach Don Mahoney told the players, "Do you want to be Vanilla Ice, a one-hit wonder, or do you want to be the Rolling Stones, and just make hit after hit. That's what we have to do is win game after game."
Tulane wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, left, talks with quarterback J.P. Losman at practice Friday at St. Louis School.
Tulane (7-5), which lost to lowly Army Nov. 16, closed the regular season a week later with an upset of Southern Mississippi, eventually earning a berth in Wednesday's ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl.
While the Green Wave's marquee value has been questioned, Losman said, "We have to go out there and prove to these people we can play to this level, you know. If people want to look down on our university and our program that way, it's up to us to change that. It's up to us to make a statement."
Losman, a junior who transferred from UCLA in 1999, added: "I'm not intimidated at all. If anything, I have too much confidence. I have too much confidence in the players around me. I think they're just a great group of guys. All their problem was, the whole year, was realizing they're that good. And it took us to the Southern Miss game to realize we were that good. Hopefully, that continues to this game."
• WHEN: Wednesday, 3:05 p.m. • TEAMS: Hawai'i (10-3) vs. Tulane (7-5) • WHERE: Aloha Stadium. Parking lot opens at 11:30 a.m., stadium noon • TICKETS: $40, $25, $15. Available at Aloha Stadium box office, University of Hawai'i Stan Sheriff Center ticket office, UH Campus Center or by phone, 484-1122 • TV/RADIO: ESPN (live)/KKEA 1420 AM (live)
When reporters relayed Losman's comments, Wave coach Chris Scelfo shrugged and said, "There's no telling what our quarterback will say. You can egg him on the whole week. You're going to get some good stuff from Losman. The thing is we know he's a good player. Our defense has got a lot of leadership on it. The reason we're here is because of the opportunities that we were able to create on defense and what we were able to accomplish on offense."
ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl
Tulane had not played since Nov. 23, while its coming opponent, Hawai'i, last played Dec. 7.
But after yesterday's spirited practice at St. Louis School, Losman declared that Tulane was back in stride.
"Today, I think, we proved a big point," Losman said. "Our team had a great practice today. I'm very happy with our guys offensively and defensively. Our mentality was into it. We played with heart today."
