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University of Minnesota Athletics
A True Collegian - Senior Mark Losli
10/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
“Mark is the only Division I-A college recruit I’ve had the pleasure to coach here at Spring Lake Park, and we’ve had a number of fine athletes come through school during my time here,” Schlieff said during a 2004 interview. “Mark had the height, size and the intelligence the Big Ten schools were looking for in a future varsity football player.”
Now a senior defensive tackle, Mark Losli has grown even more both on and off the field and he is ready to give it his all one final season in hopes of a Big Ten Championship. Fortunately for him and the rest of the team, everybody knows.
A 2000 graduate of Spring Lake Park High School, Losli came to the Gophers his freshman year and redshirted. Listed at 250 pounds, he knew he wasn’t quite big enough yet for the Big Ten game. During that redshirt season, Losli worked hard and gained almost 30 pounds before the start of the 2002 season. After earning his way into the starting lineup as a defensive end that year, he registered six sacks in only 10 games. Again as a defensive end during his sophomore season Losli had his best season yet with 33 tackles, five of which were sacks, but was moved to defensive tackle prior to last season.
Prior to last season, Losli moved to defensive tackle. In his first season in the middle, he became a run stopper while still recording three sacks, all the while learning on the go. Now in his final season and with a full season at defensive tackle under his belt Losli prepares to take on the position at full size and strength.
“Physically I’ve changed a lot. I came in here at 250 pounds and now after two-a-days, I’m right around 300,” Losli said. “Physically it has been a drastic change especially going from defensive end to tackle, I just had to keep putting on size and weight, and it was a natural progression down to defensive tackle.”
Physical changes are to be expected as a player grows; however it is the other intangibles that make a person special.
First-year defensive line coach Carey Bailey noticed something special about Losli right away and realizes what he means to this team as a player and a leader. “He is a sense of stability, you know exactly what he is going to bring to the table every week,” Bailey said. “He is consistent, hardworking, structured; he understands his role on this team and he has a great knowledge of the game. He is not a vocal guy, he tries to lead by example.The thing that he does is set the standard that everyone goes by, and does what he is supposed to do so everyone knows how to do it right.”
This is true in a lot of senses, where often a person isn’t thought of as a leader because he or she isn’t the one barking orders or taking players aside. Some would say this sort of leadership is natural instinct, some say it is developed over time and Losli agrees. “I think the biggest change over the years is just being around, being a senior this year,” he said. “You’re always expected to step it up in leadership, and being a fourth year starter on the defensive line, myself and Anthony Montgomery, we’re kind of looked at to get things going on the line and up front and holding things down in the middle.”
Along with leadership, there are other intangibles required of a player, most of which never get talked about on the radio or put in the papers, but one that defines Losli with every sense of the word is toughness. From his redshirt freshman season and through his first game this season, Losli has displayed his gritty nature, missing just one game in his career and starting 34 of the 39 contests. That is a very difficult task to accomplish given the nature of the sport and intensity level it is played at.
“I think that just comes with working hard and practicing hard. We practice so hard it’s like a game and you get banged up in games, but you just have to tough it out,” Losli said. “There is a difference between injuries and being hurt. You’re always going to have injuries. I’ve had injuries and I have been banged up, you just have to learn to tough it up and play through them.”
Toughness is something coaches notice even when they don’t see it right away. “He is one of those guys that you aren’t going to know that he is hurt unless you ask him; he was playing this last spring with a broken finger,” Bailey said. “Playing inside you have to have that level of toughness, and he is a blue-collar guy.”
Toughness is something coaches look for when trying to make an impact in their first year’s at a new position. In the off-season there were a lot of changes made on the Gophers coaching staff especially on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive coordinator David Lockwood and the defensive coaching staff first looked to change the defensive attitude of their new team, an attitude that calls for a tougher more confident squad. Both the coaches and team have already begun to see the benefits of their new coaches teachings.
“The biggest change this year was focusing on our attitude,” Losli said. “Attitude defensively is important, and we’ve been trying to take on the attitude that we are going to be tougher and have the confidence to go out and play how we are supposed to. We have the players and the experience, so as long as we have the attitude, there should be no reason for us not to be successful.”
The new defensive attitude was showcased in the first game this season when the team opened on the road at Tulsa and held the Golden Hurricane to only 10 points. Even though they played well in their first game the team has even higher expectations for themselves, both personally and as a team.
As a leader and a senior in his final season, Losli has the support of his new coaches. “I expect him to have a solid season,” Bailey said. “The more he goes the better he is going to be and the more comfortable he becomes in terms of relaxing and not thinking. It’s hard because he is a very cerebral person, so the more he stops thinking and just turns it loose, the better he is going to be. I have to slow his mind down a little bit, but it’s tough to do when he has a 3.8 GPA.”
Losli has a simpler game plan in mind for himself.
“I just want to do everything I can to help our team win. Whatever it may be, making plays, making tackles, providing leadership when I can,” Losli stated. “That is what it is all about, and that is what it is all for, winning games and a Big Ten Championship.”
Losli seems to carry the confidence that the entire team has exuded during the entire spring practice, and if you ask any Gopher what the goal is for this season they will answer you before you get the question out of your mouth. “A Big Ten Championship.”
“We work so hard every day, all year round, especially after being a little frustrated last year,” Losli added. “We lost some games not because we thought we were an inferior team, but because we didn’t play as well as we could have. We beat ourselves. Our goals are just to play up to our abilities and win a Big Ten Championship.”
In the end, Big Ten Championship or not, Losli realizes how important his time here at the University has been and how much it has meant to him.
“I’m going to miss being around my teammates. Playing in big games and all the excitement that surrounds that, the Saturdays,” Losli said. “But it wouldn’t be anything without the guys you are playing next to.”
His coaches will also miss him, especially Bailey who has a more simple way of putting it.
“We are going to miss his size, a 6’7’” 300-pound guy, that is going to be missed,” he admitted. “We’ll miss his maturity and knowledge. He is one of the few guys up front that has played every position on the line, playing up and down the line of scrimmage since he has been here. Vast amount of game experience, vast amount of technical knowledge, he understands what it takes to play inside. All that plus he’s a great kid to be around.”
Losli is a great person, student and athlete. Coach Schlieff already knew that.
Now we all do.
Story by Chris Jensen, athletic communications student assistant Jeff Schlieff already knew. Before the Big Ten schools came calling, before he signed to play football at the University of Minnesota. Schlieff knew Mark Losli was something special, something that only comes around once every 75 years, like Halley’s Comet. As Losli’s high school football coach, he had seen his pupil grow into his six-foot, six-inch frame, and watched him display the athletic ability and work ethic he has come to be known by.
“Mark is the only Division I-A college recruit I’ve had the pleasure to coach here at Spring Lake Park, and we’ve had a number of fine athletes come through school during my time here,” Schlieff said during a 2004 interview. “Mark had the height, size and the intelligence the Big Ten schools were looking for in a future varsity football player.”
Now a senior defensive tackle, Mark Losli has grown even more both on and off the field and he is ready to give it his all one final season in hopes of a Big Ten Championship. Fortunately for him and the rest of the team, everybody knows.
A 2000 graduate of Spring Lake Park High School, Losli came to the Gophers his freshman year and redshirted. Listed at 250 pounds, he knew he wasn’t quite big enough yet for the Big Ten game. During that redshirt season, Losli worked hard and gained almost 30 pounds before the start of the 2002 season. After earning his way into the starting lineup as a defensive end that year, he registered six sacks in only 10 games. Again as a defensive end during his sophomore season Losli had his best season yet with 33 tackles, five of which were sacks, but was moved to defensive tackle prior to last season.
Prior to last season, Losli moved to defensive tackle. In his first season in the middle, he became a run stopper while still recording three sacks, all the while learning on the go. Now in his final season and with a full season at defensive tackle under his belt Losli prepares to take on the position at full size and strength.
“Physically I’ve changed a lot. I came in here at 250 pounds and now after two-a-days, I’m right around 300,” Losli said. “Physically it has been a drastic change especially going from defensive end to tackle, I just had to keep putting on size and weight, and it was a natural progression down to defensive tackle.”
Physical changes are to be expected as a player grows; however it is the other intangibles that make a person special.
First-year defensive line coach Carey Bailey noticed something special about Losli right away and realizes what he means to this team as a player and a leader. “He is a sense of stability, you know exactly what he is going to bring to the table every week,” Bailey said. “He is consistent, hardworking, structured; he understands his role on this team and he has a great knowledge of the game. He is not a vocal guy, he tries to lead by example.The thing that he does is set the standard that everyone goes by, and does what he is supposed to do so everyone knows how to do it right.”
This is true in a lot of senses, where often a person isn’t thought of as a leader because he or she isn’t the one barking orders or taking players aside. Some would say this sort of leadership is natural instinct, some say it is developed over time and Losli agrees. “I think the biggest change over the years is just being around, being a senior this year,” he said. “You’re always expected to step it up in leadership, and being a fourth year starter on the defensive line, myself and Anthony Montgomery, we’re kind of looked at to get things going on the line and up front and holding things down in the middle.”
Along with leadership, there are other intangibles required of a player, most of which never get talked about on the radio or put in the papers, but one that defines Losli with every sense of the word is toughness. From his redshirt freshman season and through his first game this season, Losli has displayed his gritty nature, missing just one game in his career and starting 34 of the 39 contests. That is a very difficult task to accomplish given the nature of the sport and intensity level it is played at.
“I think that just comes with working hard and practicing hard. We practice so hard it’s like a game and you get banged up in games, but you just have to tough it out,” Losli said. “There is a difference between injuries and being hurt. You’re always going to have injuries. I’ve had injuries and I have been banged up, you just have to learn to tough it up and play through them.”
Toughness is something coaches notice even when they don’t see it right away. “He is one of those guys that you aren’t going to know that he is hurt unless you ask him; he was playing this last spring with a broken finger,” Bailey said. “Playing inside you have to have that level of toughness, and he is a blue-collar guy.”
Toughness is something coaches look for when trying to make an impact in their first year’s at a new position. In the off-season there were a lot of changes made on the Gophers coaching staff especially on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive coordinator David Lockwood and the defensive coaching staff first looked to change the defensive attitude of their new team, an attitude that calls for a tougher more confident squad. Both the coaches and team have already begun to see the benefits of their new coaches teachings.
“The biggest change this year was focusing on our attitude,” Losli said. “Attitude defensively is important, and we’ve been trying to take on the attitude that we are going to be tougher and have the confidence to go out and play how we are supposed to. We have the players and the experience, so as long as we have the attitude, there should be no reason for us not to be successful.”
The new defensive attitude was showcased in the first game this season when the team opened on the road at Tulsa and held the Golden Hurricane to only 10 points. Even though they played well in their first game the team has even higher expectations for themselves, both personally and as a team.
As a leader and a senior in his final season, Losli has the support of his new coaches. “I expect him to have a solid season,” Bailey said. “The more he goes the better he is going to be and the more comfortable he becomes in terms of relaxing and not thinking. It’s hard because he is a very cerebral person, so the more he stops thinking and just turns it loose, the better he is going to be. I have to slow his mind down a little bit, but it’s tough to do when he has a 3.8 GPA.”
Losli has a simpler game plan in mind for himself.
“I just want to do everything I can to help our team win. Whatever it may be, making plays, making tackles, providing leadership when I can,” Losli stated. “That is what it is all about, and that is what it is all for, winning games and a Big Ten Championship.”
Losli seems to carry the confidence that the entire team has exuded during the entire spring practice, and if you ask any Gopher what the goal is for this season they will answer you before you get the question out of your mouth. “A Big Ten Championship.”
“We work so hard every day, all year round, especially after being a little frustrated last year,” Losli added. “We lost some games not because we thought we were an inferior team, but because we didn’t play as well as we could have. We beat ourselves. Our goals are just to play up to our abilities and win a Big Ten Championship.”
In the end, Big Ten Championship or not, Losli realizes how important his time here at the University has been and how much it has meant to him.
“I’m going to miss being around my teammates. Playing in big games and all the excitement that surrounds that, the Saturdays,” Losli said. “But it wouldn’t be anything without the guys you are playing next to.”
His coaches will also miss him, especially Bailey who has a more simple way of putting it.
“We are going to miss his size, a 6’7’” 300-pound guy, that is going to be missed,” he admitted. “We’ll miss his maturity and knowledge. He is one of the few guys up front that has played every position on the line, playing up and down the line of scrimmage since he has been here. Vast amount of game experience, vast amount of technical knowledge, he understands what it takes to play inside. All that plus he’s a great kid to be around.”
Losli is a great person, student and athlete. Coach Schlieff already knew that.
Now we all do.
Story by Chris Jensen, athletic communications student assistant
