BYU football: Tialavea is back and better than ever

PROVO — While he was trying to make a play during a scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium last August, BYU's Russell Tialavea tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

In an instant, his season was over. Months of grueling rehab followed.

A year later, the junior defensive lineman says that ACL injury was one of the best things that's happened to him.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Tialavea's comeback has been "one of the great stories of the year," adding that what Tialavea experienced the past year has been a defining moment in his life.

Tialavea agrees.

"Yeah, it has," said the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder from Oceanside, Calif. "I think the ACL thing has probably helped me out the most. It's changed my whole life pretty much, along with all the help from coaches and other players. I feel like a new person. I'm just excited for this year. I can't wait until the games start."

To appreciate how far Tialavea has come, it's important to understand where he started. Named the 2004 Avocado League defensive player of the year and a second-team All-CIF selection at Oceanside High School, Tialavea arrived at BYU in the fall of 2005 as one of Mendenhall's first recruits.

But after redshirting in 2005, Tialavea was suspended by Mendenhall in the spring of 2006 for a violation of team rules. As part of the suspension, he missed the season-opener against Arizona but turned in a strong performance that year, starting seven games at nose tackle and recording 22 tackles and a pair of blocked kicks.

Expectations were high for Tialavea going into fall camp a year ago. Then came the injury, which also affected Mendenhall on many levels.

"I felt so bad last year in the scrimmage in fall camp when he got hurt," Mendenhall said. "That's one of those decisions you question as a head coach, why even have him in there? When you see ACLs happen and you know how long it's going to take (to come back), that one really bothered me."

Tialavea responded to the injury by working hard and making changes in his life.

"Russell hadn't had the strongest work ethic prior to that injury," Mendenhall said. "He's a very good player, but he hadn't demonstrated a lot of maturity, either. To me, it's been kind of a defining moment in the kid's life in terms of the diligence, perseverance and maybe maturity that he's demonstrated.