Utah State Football Hires Defensive Line, Tight End Coaches
Jan 4, 2021, 12:23 PM
Utah State head coach Blake Anderson (Photo courtesy of Wade Denniston/USU Athletics)
(Photo courtesy of Wade Denniston/USU Athletics)
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football head coach Blake Anderson announced two position coaches hired to his staff on Monday morning.
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Utah State football hired Al Lapuaho as the Defensive Line coach and D.J. Tialavea as the tight end coach.
Lapuaho will enter his fourth season with the Aggies and his first as a position coach. He previously was a defensive graduate assistant, working with the defensive line in 2018 and 2019. Lapuaho moved over to the strength and condition graduate assistant last season.
The West Valley City, Utah native earned first team all-conference with Snow College before joining Utah State in 2011 and 2012. In 2013 and 2014, Lapuaho was in the NFL playing for the St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins in 2013 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014.
Welcome on board @CoachLapuaho‼️
Lapuaho set to coach the Aggies Defensive Line.
➡️ https://t.co/FuHTP4rzg2#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/jeOVEulzOh
— USU Football (@USUFootball) January 4, 2021
Tialavea will be entering his second season with the Aggies after serving as an offensive graduate assistant working with the tight ends last season. He spent four years as a player at Utah State and was a captain for three seasons. As a player, Tialavea played on the defensive line and at tight end. In 40 career games in Logan, he caught 30 passes for 198 yards and five touchdowns.
Welcome back @DjTialavea_86‼️
Tialavea is back and set to coach the Tight Ends.
➡️ https://t.co/yMKOoDNuiv#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/Xev1YiiQME
— USU Football (@USUFootball) January 4, 2021
After his college career, Tialavea spent three years in the NFL as an undrafted free agent, starting with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2013. He then moved to the Buffalo Bills in 2015 before spending the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. His last season in the NFL was with the Chicago Bears in 2017.
When Blake Anderson was hired by Utah State, he announced that former Aggie star QB Chuckie Keeton will be on the staff. Keeton will serve as the running backs coach.
