In “The Scotsman,” Utah State’s unofficial fight song written by a student in the early 1900s, the final lyrics say, “Show me a true-blooded Aggie from Utah, who doesn’t love the spot where the sagebrush grows.”
While that final sentence in the song fits many who are passionate about Utah State and its athletic programs, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone more dyed in the wool, true Aggie blue through and through, than DJ Nelson.
Nelson’s Aggie blood runs extremely deep.
His great-grandfather is George “Doc” Nelson, the longtime trainer and wrestling coach at USU – known as the Utah State Agricultural College (USAC) in those days. In 1956, the USAC board resolved to name the Field House – located just across the street from the Aggie Recreation Center – in honor of George Nelson for his numerous contributions to Aggie athletics.
Another great-grandfather, George Wesley Schaub, was a quarterback on the 1922 USAC team, the same squad he was the trainer for.
His grandfather on his mom’s side, Rod Tueller, is one of the most successful basketball coaches in Utah State history. He started in the high school ranks before becoming an Aggie assistant, then took over as the head coach of the Aggies prior to the 1979-80 season. In nine years, he guided Utah State to a record of 139-120 and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Tueller, who in 2005 had the USU basketball team meeting room inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum named after him, also served seven years as the athletics director at USU.
His father, Keith, and older brother, Riley, both played football at Utah State. Many of his uncles, and even a cousin, also played a varsity sport at Utah State. Now, DJ is sharing the USU gridiron with his little brother, Chase, a sophomore.
“The list goes on and on,” DJ said. “The blood runs deep. It’s not just the love for sports, but the love for Aggie athletics.”
Coming out of Logan High School, where he was named a U.S. Air Force Medium Schools first-team All-American and a MaxPreps second-team All-American after leading the Grizzlies to a perfect 14-0 record and 4A state title as a senior in 2011, DJ Nelson did not receive very many offers to continue playing at the next level.
It didn’t matter, though. He knew where his heart was and where he wanted to play.
“Utah State was always on the top of my list,” he said. “I didn’t get a lot of looks out of high school, but no matter how many looks I got, Utah State would’ve been on the top of the list. It’s been a lot of fun, and I have enjoyed every single minute of it. To be able to play for the team I watched growing up, and run out in front of the people that I’ve grown up around and been around, and know on a personal level, is just a treat. It’s something that I don’t take for granted, and something that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed over these last five years.”
Now in his senior season at Utah State, the former quarterback is now catching passes (he switched to wide receiver this year) instead of throwing them. DJ Nelson also continues to play a vital role on every special teams unit.
“He is an awesome kid,” said USU inside receivers/tight ends coach Luke Wells. “I have had the chance to coach him in two different positions (quarterback and receiver), which is neat, but just being around him every day, he is the same kid every day. I’ve never seen him have a bad day in his life. I know he’s gone through adversity in some situations with moving up and down the depth chart, and injuries or whatever, but he still has that same smile, and he still has the same look in his eye.
“He’s a great leader. He plays the game the way it ought to be played. He loves it. He spends a lot of time watching tape, and he spends a lot of time coaching the other players. He is a guy that really brings a lot and would bring a lot to any position he played because he’s going to do everything he’s got to do.”
Nelson, who redshirted his first season at Utah State in 2014, has served as the team’s holder since 2015. Proving he’s one of the best in the nation at his craft, Nelson was tabbed the Mortell Award Holder of the Week on Sept. 12, after being a perfect 12-for-12 on holds – six field goals and six extra-point tries – in Utah State’s 60-13 win over New Mexico State.
During his time at Utah State, Nelson has also blocked two punts, returning one of them 43 yards for a touchdown against Colorado State last year, and he scored a touchdown from four yards out on a fake field goal the previous week against Wyoming.
“That is all attitude,” Wells said. “Anybody who plays that well on special teams has the kind of attitude, has the kind of mindset, that they are going to go make a play on special teams, and they take it seriously. That’s the biggest thing about him is he’s reliable. He is on all the major phases of special teams, and when he’s at the inside receiver position, he plays with really good physicality and finds a way to get open. You know what you are going to get with him.
“The best way to explain DJ is that you’re going to get a guy who is dependable, and he’s going to give you everything he’s got.”
Nelson caught the first two passes of his Aggie career during the 2017 campaign, a 20-yard pass at Air Force and a nine-yard pass against New Mexico State in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. He has also carried the ball five times for 19 yards and completed his only pass attempt for 12 yards as a sophomore in 2016 against Air Force.
“I just like to play football,” Nelson said. “I consider myself a football player, and whatever that entails, that’s what I love to do.”
Chase Nelson has enjoyed his time watching his older brother play, as well as playing on the same team – from youth football up until now.
“Football is one of the ways we have built our lifelong friendship,” Chase Nelson said. “Some of the best and happiest moments of my life have come from watching DJ succeed, whether it be throwing a last-second game-winning touchdown in the state championship game or blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown against Colorado State. I’ve always had so much fun watching him.
“To be able to play alongside DJ is a continuation of a legacy, and an honor to our dad and family members who put so much time, money and energy into supporting our football endeavors so that we could enrich our lives and have memorable experiences. One of the biggest reasons we do it is to try and positively reflect the way we were raised and coached by our dad, and to honor him and our mom, for the great football life they gave us growing up.”
For five years, DJ Nelson has poured his heart and soul into the football program. He hopes Aggie fans will always remember him by his hard work.
“I went them to remember someone who didn’t take anything for granted and enjoyed the opportunity that I got and tried to make the most of it, and went out and competed every snap I got,” he said.
The son of Keith and Joni Nelson, a two-time academic all-Mountain West recipient, is majoring in business administration and finance. He is on track to graduate from Utah State this December.
But before any of that happens, the Nelson boys have high aspirations of how they want the remainder of the season to play out.
“DJ and I have won two championships together, and we’re looking to snag a third in this, his final year – the last time we can ever play football together,” Chase Nelson said. “We won the mini bowl in 2003 and the state championship while playing together at Logan in 2011. We were raised right under the shadows of Old Main, so doing all of this in an Aggie uniform adds to the sweetness of the experience.”