Once cut from practice squad, BYU's Taele now starting option


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PROVO — The first time Logan Taele was cut from the BYU football team, he didn't know what to do with himself.

Forced to put on weight and try to move from outside linebacker to the defensive line, the Columbus, Ohio, native put on 80 pounds of muscle while running wind sprints every day at Wyview Fields in Provo.

Every time he would get tired, he'd look across the street at LaVell Edwards Stadium, with Y Mountain hanging in the backdrop. That's where he wanted to play. That's where he wanted to be.

The next year, in 2012, Taele made the Cougars' scout team. A year later, he played in 10 games on the defensive line, notching two tackles for loss and a sack on the Cougars' 2013 squad.

When BYU kicks off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MDT at Nebraska, the 6-foot-2, 293-pound Taele is projected to be the starter on the right side of the defensive line. After three years of barely making it, the Dixie High grad who only played one year in St. George and had just one offer to Weber State has made it. His inclusion as a starter fulfills his mother's wish of playing in a BYU uniform.

"It's all I've ever wanted, just to be out there with my team and to play," said Taele, who registered 31 tackles, two tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries as a junior. "It's all I've ever wanted, and I've got it."

He almost quit a few times, but eventually went back to work, thinking of his grandfather and a father who briefly played for BYU. After his LDS Church mission in Tucson, Arizona, Taele de-committed from Weber State and tried to walk on to the Cougars' squad — but after his first attempt was unsuccessful, he was hesitant to tell his mother when he later made the scout team in 2012.

"I kind of just kept it to myself. She said 'I'm not going to come to your games until you play,'" Taele recalled with a laugh. "But she's always been there for me. I love her."

Darell Garretson (10) of the Utah State Aggies scrambles during NCAA football in Provo on Oct. 3, 2014. Diving is Logan Taele (62) of BYU. (Photo: Ravell Call/Deseret News)
Darell Garretson (10) of the Utah State Aggies scrambles during NCAA football in Provo on Oct. 3, 2014. Diving is Logan Taele (62) of BYU. (Photo: Ravell Call/Deseret News)

Now entrenched in a defensive line that includes fellow senior Bronson Kaufusi and junior Travis Tuiloma at nose tackle, Taele knows the tone of a football game comes down to his play in the trenches.

Even more impressive, the senior is doing it with torn fibrocartilage in both shoulders. BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said Taele suffered a bilateral labrum tear last year, and though he's gone through rehabilitation and will wear two braces, doctors won't operate until the end of the season.

"He's super tough, super resilient, and then he had the option to have them fixed after the season," Mendenhall said. "But he thought it would get in the way of how he would play this year."

The battle isn't always easier. But it's worth it, after those long days of wind sprints and calorie-heavy diets of extra eggs and rice to try to beef up his frame. And yet, Taele said he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Every day, I'm just grateful I get to play football," Taele said. "I don't know where I would be right now if I didn't have football in my life. I wouldn't say it's who I am, but it's definitely a big part of who I am. It's what I do, it gives me a lot of confidence, and I've learned a lot of life skills from football."

JLD READY FOR MULTIPLE SPOTS — BYU linebacker Jherremya Leuta-Douyere has been one of a handful of defensive players cross-training at multiple positions through fall camp.

On Monday's projected depth chart, the 230-pound senior was listed as a starter at outside linebacker. But he told the media Wednesday that he has been preparing almost exclusive at middle linebacker alongside teammate Manoa Pikula.

"Right now, it's me and Manoa," Leuta-Douyere said. "I don't know if it stands like that, but going into practices that's how it's been in the middle."


You get guys like Jherremya and Manoa that know multiple positions, it just helps your defense if somebody goes down or gets injured. It gives us a lot of flexibility and helps our overall defense. The more you know, the more you know.

–BYU insider linebackers coach Paul Tidwell


Pikula and Bingham grad Harvey Langi were listed as the two starters in the middle of BYU's 3-4 defense. But inside linebackers coach Paul Tidwell said variations and rotations in the linebacker corps could shift through the season, and even during a game — as he'll likely do Saturday at Nebraska.

"You get guys like Jherremya and Manoa that know multiple positions, it just helps your defense if somebody goes down or gets injured," Tidwell said. "It gives us a lot of flexibility and helps our overall defense. The more you know, the more you know."

The potential change isn't a reflection on Langi's strength, either. The former all-state running back moved in with safety Chris Badger this year, and Tidwell called the move "the smart thing that Harvey did."

"His acceleration of learning the defense has been unbelievable," the coach added. "I trust Harvey. As far as the physical mechanics of actually playing the position, he doesn't have as much experience. He's going to be baptized by fire real soon."

HUSKER FAMILIARITY — BYU will face Nebraska for the first time in school history Saturday. But it won't be the first game against the Huskers for Tidwell.

The former Snow College head coach took the Badgers on a road trip to play the Huskers' JV squad twice during his tenure, and the experience of playing at Memorial Stadium was a highlight of his tenure in Ephraim.

"Tom Osborne was the head coach at the time, and he treated us like we were Ohio State," said Tidwell, who was also an assistant at Louisiana Tech during a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska. "The guy was awesome; he helped pay our way out there, and gave us tickets to the game the next day. It was a great experience."

Taele, who has never been to Nebraska, joked that the area can't be all too unfamiliar from his native Ohio.

"I'm from Ohio, so I imagine it's similar," he said, laughing. "Flat and not much going on."

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