USU Football - Making his presence known

The season has started slow for junior tight end D.J. Tialavea.

The West Jordan High product missed all of camp and the first two games with a lower leg injury. He's played since, but has struggled to find his role in Matt Wells' offense.

He broke out in a big way on Saturday night, in a 35-13 win over UNLV.

Tialavea caught two passes, his first two catches of the season. He caught his first touchdown of the season. He made a great block to free Kerwynn Williams for a screen pass that went for a touchdown. In short, Tialavea had his biggest and best game of the season.

His role has been limited from last year, with the return of Kellen Bartlett and his pass-catching ability, Tialavea has been relegated to being more of a blocker. The biggest thing, though, is that he's finally healthy, and finally feeling like himself.

With his size, 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, he often serves as almost an extra lineman in the run game.

If he can continue what he started on Saturday, he can give USU yet another weapon in its offense.

Tony Jones