KIRKLAND – Doubt?
Bring it on, says Lofa Tatupu.
Skepticism?
It follows him everywhere.
Blind disbelief?
Yeah, Tatupu has felt that too.
Everywhere he’s gone, Tatupu gets followed by inevitable questions.
And on the eve of his first NFL minicamp, Tatupu hopes to prove the doubters wrong once again.
“I thrive on that. I love it,” said Tatupu, a former USC middle linebacker whose pro career unofficially begins today when the Seattle Seahawks open minicamp. “There was a time in high school when I used to get discouraged by that kind of talk. But now it kind of gets the fire burning.”
The biggest question about Tatupu always has to do with his size. Listed at 5-foot-11, 226 pounds, Tatupu is not the prototypical NFL middle linebacker.
Yet this weekend Tatupu faces an even greater obstacle. History is not exactly on his side.
The Seahawks have had trouble finding a long-term middle linebacker over the years – make that eight years, at least since Seattle has had the same starting middle linebacker in back-to-back seasons – and they are so certain that Tatupu can eventually be the guy that they invested a second-round draft pick in him.
“He’s one of those guys that makes plays,” Seahawks defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes said. “Those things are important to me. … Just talking to him, he’s a demanding player. And he’s a natural leader. That’s something that really stood out to us.”
While the Seahawks may believe, not many others do. ESPN broadcasters scoffed at the pick, saying Tatupu was no better than a fifth-round talent.
He heard the same disparaging talk in high school, when no NCAA Division I-A schools offered him a scholarship to play linebacker. Temple and Rutgers offered him a chance to play quarterback. Maine, a Division I-AA school that had won just 38 percent of its games in the 1990s, was willing to give the Massachusetts product a shot at linebacker.
Tatupu quickly proved those doubters wrong by earning a starting spot as a freshman and leading Maine to a 9-3 record in 2001, the Black Bears’ best record in 13 seasons. Typical of his personality, Tatupu wanted to take his game to another level. So he transferred to USC, where his father, Mosi, had a successful career as a running back in the 1970s.
Because of his size and lack of experience in a big-time program, the questions followed Tatupu to Southern California. He sat out a year under NCAA transfer rules, then shocked everyone by earning the starting nod as a sophomore.
“We were sold on him as soon as we met him,” USC linebackers coach Rocky Seto said. “You look in his eye, and he has a certain demeanor. You could tell that he was a winner.”
By his junior year, Tatupu had established himself as the leader of the defense. He helped the Trojans to a 24-1 record over two seasons, leading the team in tackles both years, before leaving school early.
While his decision to take his game to another level was nothing new to Tatupu, it came as a disappointment to his famous father.
“My dad wanted me to stay in school and finish getting my degree,” said Lofa, who was on target to graduate in December. “But I felt it was in my best interest to leave. I put in three years there, and it was time to go. … It’s not like I was going to grow another three or four inches with another year (at USC). (Scouts) either like me, or you don’t.”
Tatupu promised to eventually earn his degree, but his immediate focus is on the Seahawks.
Seattle likes middle linebacker Niko Koutovides, a fourth-round pick last year who ended his rookie year as the starter, but saw so much potential in Tatupu that it traded two fourth-round picks to move up in the second round of last weekend’s draft. Koutouvides and Tatupu will battle for the starting spot, with veteran outside linebacker Jamie Sharper also a possibility.
If things go as planned, Tatupu will eventually become the starter. When he does that depends on just how quickly the undersized, often under-appreciated, linebacker proves the doubters wrong again.
“I look forward to the challenge,” Tatupu said. “I want to make everybody up there proud. I don’t want to let anyone down.”
Most of all, he wants to silence the critics again.
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