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Making their way

Lotulelei, Loewen, Tasini hope to prove themselves in NFL camps

By Robert Collias 4 min read

Mitchell Loewen and Pasoni Tasini both know John Lotulelei has been down this road before -- and it gives them hope that they can navigate the same path.

Loewen, a 2011 Lahainaluna High School graduate, will start fall camp as a defensive lineman with the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday. Tasini, a 2012 Baldwin graduate, began camp with the Arizona Cardinals as a nose guard on Friday.

"It's cool, but it's also nerve-wracking as well because the whole feeling of not knowing whether or not you're going to put enough work in," said Tasini, who signed in May as an undrafted free agent out of Utah. "But it's exciting to be here and exciting to have the opportunity."

Loewen is coming off a foot injury he suffered late in his senior season at Arkansas in 2015 that required surgery. He signed as an undrafted free agent in May of 2016 before being sidelined a month later because the injury lingered. He went on injured reserve, but remained in New Orleans, had another operation and says he now feels healthy.

"It's doing good, all healed up, 100 percent ready to go," said Loewen, who spent the last year still going to team meetings.

Lotulelei, a 2009 Baldwin graduate who has spent time on regular-season rosters with the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars, reported to the Dallas Cowboys on Friday -- the linebacker lives in Dallas with his wife, Nicole, and their four boys, all 3 years old or younger. The Cowboys open camp in Oxnard, Calif., today.

"Pretty excited, I have been living here for four years," Lotulelei said. "My wife's family is from this area and it's super convenient for my family as well."

Lotulelei signed in January, ahead of the Cowboys' divisional-round playoff game.

"They told me they were going to keep tabs on me, keep me updated because they needed a body for the playoff run, but they got knocked out, so they ended up signing me instead for a future contract," he said.

Loewen, who has a young family as well -- his son Luke will have his first birthday next month -- has been working as a tackle as well as at defensive end.

"Guys like (Saints defensive line veterans) Cam Jordan and Darryl Tapp have kind of taken me under their wings and just showed me ropes of what it takes to be an NFL player," Loewen said.

The trio of Mauians in NFL camps are used to challenges. All three had to battle to make the top level of college football -- Loewen arrived in Fayetteville as a walk-on, while Tasini and Lotulelei started at junior colleges.

"It says the MIL is being overlooked," Lotulelei said. "We have a lot of talent coming out of Maui. We still have more coming out. We have Hercules Mataafa (a Lahainaluna graduate now on the defensive line at Washington State), he will probably be a first-round pick next year.

"Everybody just looks at Maui as a paradise, but we produce a lot of athletes."

Tau Lotulelei, John's younger brother and a linebacker out of Maui High, finished his UNLV career last year with 318 career tackles, including 42 1/2 for loss.

"He had a minicamp invite (with the Indianapolis Colts) and they told him, 'Keep it up,' " John Lotulelei said. "His agents are working real hard for him and we've got several teams looking at him. I brought him over to Dallas to start working up and get prepared."

Tasini is happy to see the Maui Interscholastic League making its mark.

"I think it's way great. It's kind of like a pride thing, coming from home," he said. "It's a small island and not too many guys make it out, so it's good to see that we have this many in the league right now."

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

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