Growing Into Leadership
Nov 2, 2004 | Football
Nov. 2, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - It's hard for any person to decide when it's time to leave behind their passion. For most college football players, that decision is forced upon them when their final season arrives.
Tulane offensive lineman Jimmy Kosienski is playing his final season, not only for the Green Wave, but for his career, in 2004. For Kosienski, leaving football will be harder than he ever imagined.
"When I first got to Tulane, I didn't want to redshirt. I wanted to come here, play, and get out," Kosienski said. "Now, these five years have gone by so fast, and I don't know if I'm ready to leave. But it's time to leave, time to get ready for the real world."
Kosienski started his football career 15 years ago as a third grader in Baton Rouge, playing for the St. Alphonsis Stingers. Like all pee-wee leaguers, Kosienski played a variety of positions. Later, as a player for Redemptorist High School, Kosienski played both offensive line and tight end for Head Coach Sid Edwards, earning him a stack of all-metro, all district, and all-state honors.
When it came time to go to college, Kosienski chose Tulane over Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech and his hometown LSU Tigers after meeting Coach Scelfo and his staff during the recruiting process.
"It was the coaches; they were the ones that recruited me and brought me to Tulane," Kosienski said. "They were people I wanted to play for, not people who, when I would be at practice I would say to myself, `what am I here for?'"
During recruitment, Kosienski met offensive line coach Don Mahoney, then in his second year at Tulane. The two have built a strong bond during Kosienski's career.
"As the years have gone by, he's become the coach I've become closest to, even more so than my high school coach," Kosienski said. "He can turn to me and says this is what needs to be done... When I mess up, he doesn't need to pull me to the side and tell me what I did wrong like he did during my freshman year. He just gives me that look and I know that I have to fix something."
Mahoney, a former offensive lineman himself, echoes the senior's sentiments.
"He's a guy that I can talk to, and I know he feels the same way," Mahoney said. "We can talk together on just about any subject, football or non-football related. There is a trust that has been formed between us."
Kosienski, now a 6-7, 293-pound tackle, started his career as a tight end, playing two games before redshirting in 2000. His first action at Tulane came against SEC foe Ole Miss.
"The defensive end I went up against, I thought at the time that he was the biggest player in the world," Kosienski said. "When I got down across from him I thought, oh [gosh], what am I doing? But we ended up scoring on that play, so that was good."
After his redshirt year, Kosienski played specials team and substituted on the line in 2001. In 2002, he earned a starting position at right tackle, playing in all 13 games and helping Tulane establish one of the most potent offenses in the nation. He also recovered a fumble from then-quarterback J.P. Losman and scored a touchdown against Memphis.
A nagging injury plagued his junior year, forcing Kosienski to miss a game against Mississippi State. This year he is back at right tackle, leading a solid core of offensive linemen.
During his Tulane career, Mahoney has watched Kosienski grow from a green lineman to a team leader.
"The biggest growth has been mental," Mahoney said. "Early on, there were physical mistakes, mental mistakes that were part of a growing process. Now he is a fifth-year senior, who has played a string of games, including a bowl game, and has seen everything. He's just grown up in so many ways. Against defenses, he's looking for situations instead of seeing them for the first time."
"He's definitely our leader," said junior offensive guard Matt Traina. "The experience he's brings as the oldest guy on the line is essential, plus he has a lot of intensity and energy. He's one of the most vocal leaders on our offense."
Kosienski, who has established his presence as a veteran leader not only among the linemen but also for the entire football squad, was selected as a team captain by his Green Wave peers earlier this season.
"Two years ago, Coach Mahoney said something about me becoming a captain. At the time I never even thought about it," Kosienski said. "But when I did I said `yeah, I want to become a captain.' One hundred guys on your team said they look to you for leadership. You've done something for them to do that. They just didn't pick somebody out of the crowd. It's nice to be picked for that."
"He has incredible work ethic, attitude, on the field work ethic, in the weight room. A lot of players respect him from that standpoint, that and his overall toughness that he brings to the team," Mahoney said. "He has pride in Tulane, plus commitment, sacrifice and all those things that the players see. He's somebody that the players look up to and can count on, on the field and off the field. It wasn't a surprise to see him picked captain."
Kosienski may be the oldest member of the line, but he is not the only veteran. Matt Traina, center Joe Traina, left tackle Chris McGee, guard Donald Blaylock and Kosienski have played together for almost three years. As a group they have helped their Green Wave teammates break rushing, passing and scoring records at Tulane.
"We're like that with our calls," Kosienski said, snapping his fingers. "Everybody knows what we're going to do on every play, so everything runs so much more smoothly, especially from last year to this year. Whenever you play with somebody so long you get to know them, you know how everything happens. When you feel more comfortable, you play better. So when you're playing next to people you've been playing with for a while, everything feels better."
"It's got to be five guys beating as one," Mahoney said. "One guy can't be off doing a separate deal. Togetherness on and off the field, counting on one another, trusting in one another, pulling in the same direction, that is everything. We're to that point where they all feel the same way about each other. The bond I wanted to have is there."
Fame comes in small doses for offensive linemen. Tailbacks and quarterbacks often steal the spotlight. For Kosienski, that's the way it should be.
"Attention is something that, personally, I don't care about. I don't care about doing the interview after the game about this play, that touchdown. I like to change and get out of the locker room. I think that when you become an offensive lineman, you automatically accept it. That's the role that you play and go with that," Kosienski said.
To help see him through his final season, Kosienski's mother, Billie Gipson is attending all of his games, home and way. His stepfather, Barry Gipson and two brothers, both budding football players, attend home games.
"They've always been there for me," Kosienski said.
Kosienski also looks back on the friendships he has formed with his teammates, especially his best friend, linebacker Blake Baker.
"There are guys on this team that I would never have met if it wasn't for football," Kosienski said. "Blake and I have gone through everything here together. We've always lived together since my freshman year. I can't lose him, when I turn around there he is."
Playing his final season, Kosienski is preparing for the "real world," finishing his major in exercise and sports science with a minor in business. After college, he plans on becoming a strength and conditioning coach.
Currently he holds three weight room records at Tulane, lifting 465 pounds on the bench press, 365 on the power clean, and holding a eight-feet, five-inches mark in the long jump.
"My grandfather told me that if you get paid for doing something that you like, it's always a lot easier, and I love working out." Kosienski said. "I started working out my sophomore year in high school. It's something that you can do whenever you are stressed, and you are bettering yourself. I would love to come back [to Tulane] and work as a strength coach, but whatever path my life takes, that's where I'll go."
Wherever Kosienski's path leads, Coach Mahoney, the man who brought him to Tulane, knows he will succeed.
"He's had to go through hard times, through games with nagging injures. He's had to fight through adversity." Mahoney said. "By doing that, he's put himself into a position that, with a job he acquires or a family that he starts, he'll be able to work through anything."
