Kelly Talavou invited his family to come in from California to watch him play in Utah's Red-White spring game Saturday, convinced that he would somehow find a way to get some action in the game.
It didn't happen.
Even though he was fully healthy to play and wasn't in trouble, Talavou just watched from the sidelines. Coach Kyle Whittingham wouldn't allow him on the field because Talavou was one of a handful of Ute players too valuable to risk an injury.
"No way," Whittingham said. "Kelly's a proven commodity and it didn't make sense to take that risk. He's an all-league player."
The 6-foot-2, 308-pounder from Santa Ana, Calif., who transferred from Idaho two years ago, is the latest in a line of top defensive lineman that have played for the Utes over the past decade.
Last year it was Steve Fifita. The year before it was Sione Pouha. Before that, there was Josh Savage, Garrett Smith, Jason Kafusi, John Frank, Lauvale Sape, Pene Talamaivao, Bronzell Miller and Luther Ellis, each an all-league selection.
"We've had a good run of defensive linemen," Whittingham said.
"We expect our defensive line to be the best in the league, and I expect Kelly to be the best defensive tackle in the Mountain West Conference."
Whittingham, who was the defensive coordinator at Utah for 10 years before becoming head coach, gives the credit for Utah's run of outstanding defensive linemen to Gary Andersen, who, except for one year away, has coached Ute defensive linemen since 1997. Andersen, in turn, gives the credit to his players.
"The factory goes back to the kids," he said. "They're very talented young men. I think we recruit well to this system and they fit well into the system when they come in here. They've got a lot of God-given ability and they buy into our program. I think they buy into the way we teach them up front with the techniques and it carries over to the playing field."
Both coaches believe Talavou will be the 11th Ute defensive lineman in the past decade to move on to the pros after his senior season.
Whittingham says Talavou works hard in the weight room besides on the field, and that has made a big difference in his improvement as his weight has gone from 325 to 308 pounds.
"He was pudgy coming out of high school and didn't look anything like he looks now," said Whittingham. "Now he's lean and muscular and looks like a defensive lineman should."
"Kelly is a special one," Andersen said. "He has the size, he has the strength and he's really developed himself in the last year.
"He's bigger as far as muscular and he's much, much stronger. He's a leaner kid and his ability to change direction on the run is very special. He's an easy kid to coach. If I'm trying to get things corrected with him or work with him on a step or his hands, he soaks it in. He's like a sponge. So that is going to make him a very, very good player."
Talavou took a circuitous route to get to Utah.
He was recruited by the Utes out of Fountain Valley High School, but there were no spots for a defensive lineman and the offensive coaches didn't want to take him as an O-lineman.
So he went up to Idaho, which didn't turn out to be to his liking.
"I didn't really like it there," he said bluntly of living in Moscow, Idaho. "I got tired of living there. My coach wouldn't release me after my freshman year."
A new coach came in the following year and he didn't want to let Talavou go, but after the Talavous threatened a lawsuit, Idaho finally released him. Talavou was so excited to leave, he didn't even bother to return to Moscow to pick up his belongings after Christmas.
Because Talavou's girlfriend is the sister of Fifita, he had kept in touch with Utah. "He contacted us and we did our best to get him down here," Whittingham said.
After redshirting during Utah's unbeaten season in 2004, Talavou immediately moved into the starting noseguard spot alongside Fifita last year. With Fifita gone, he is moving into his friend's old spot at tackle, which he says is "not much different" from his former position.
Talavou appreciates the confidence his coaches have in him to be the best tackle in the Mountain West Conference this year and says he shares the same goal. But he believes the entire line is ready for a big season in 2006.
"We're going to have a great defensive line this year," Talavou said. "We have Paul (Soliai), Kenape (Eliapo), Bryce Scanlon and Martail Burnett. We also have a lot of top recruits coming in this fall. We have a lot to live up to."
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