BOWLING GREEN — For the better part of four years, Nico Lautanen was in the background for Bowling Green.
The defensive tackle was in and out of the rotation for the Falcons, and even earned a handful of starts in his sophomore and junior years, but he always envisioned himself having a major role like former teammates Austin Valdez and Terrance Bush did.
This year, Lautanen’s patience has paid off. He’s tied for the team lead in sacks with 3 1/2, he’s started every game, and most importantly for Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler, Lautanen is part of the leadership core setting a standard for younger teammates as the Falcons hope to revamp their program.
“He’s a first-class guy,” Loeffler said. “I love him. I wish he was going to be in our program for the next five years.”
Lautanen, a redshirt senior, is one of the few players remaining on the roster who spent his entire career at Bowling Green. Aside from Lautanen, only four other BG players have been around as long.
But unlike the other four, Lautanen had to wait the longest for his moment in the sun. At points during the 2018 season, he was barely playing, naturally leaving him to question what the future held for him.
“Last year was tough,” Lautanen said. “I obviously didn’t play much, and I would be lying if I said it didn’t take a toll on me. It made my mind race everywhere.”
Even so, Lautanen said he believed two things: That his time was coming, and that he was going to stay loyal to Bowling Green.
After spending four years at BG, he wanted to see his career through the end.
“That’s the attitude I always had,” he said. “That’s how I was raised. My mother always said to never quit what you started.”
Lautanen’s impact came at a critical time for the program. The Falcons were 1-4 and had lost four straight games by 28 or more points when they met rival Toledo on Oct. 12.
Despite being a big underdog, the Falcons stunned Toledo 20-7 — their first rivalry win in a decade — partly because the Rockets had so much trouble with Lautanen. A week after a big tackle for loss the previous week at Notre Dame, Lautanen finished with eight tackles, three for loss, two sacks, a quarterback hurry, and recovered a fumble that ended a Toledo drive deep in Bowling Green territory.
“Just to see him really put it together and leave it all out there on the field each week is truly fun to see,” said defensive end David Konowalski. “It’s fun playing next to a guy like that.”
Lautanen returned to his phone after the game to find 119 text messages, most from former teammates who had never beaten Toledo. He also found friend a longtime roommate Jack Kramer through the on-field mob scene, a moment that Lautanen said made all the waiting worth it.
“I would like to say that I know him better than anyone else on this team, so it’s definitely different for me seeing sides of him at home, off the field, and on the field as well,” Kramer said. “Guys really buy into what he has to say, they listen to what he has to say, and they definitely look at him as a leader and a force on that defensive line.”
The Falcons sit at 3-6 and need to win their final three games to have a chance at making a bowl game, which Lautanen said is his hope for the rest of the season.
But Lautanen now finds himself as a major part of the team’s on-field efforts, a role he sought all along.
“To finally be out here now and to have games like I did against Toledo and Notre Dame, it’s just been something I’ve been waiting for,” Lautanen said. “I’m glad it’s finally here.”
First Published November 7, 2019, 7:17 p.m.
