UteNation Countdown to Kickoff: No. 84 Taniela Pututau

The University of Utah football season kicks off in 84 days and today we take a closer look at a newer face with a familiar last name in no. 84 Taniela Pututau. Pututau is a redshirt freshman and did not see playing time last season, although he made the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll. While currently listed at tight end, it remains to be seen if that will remain his home, as he’s lined up on both sides of the ball. Pututau was recruited as a receiver out of high school, listed as a linebacker at one point, then moved over to tight end last spring. Utah has plenty of depth at the tight end and linebacker positions to give him time to grow into a position and maximize his talents.

UteNation Take

Pututau is arguably the most athletic of the Pututau family and can still be projected at a variety of different positions. He was a 6-foot-3 and 185 pound Rivals 3-star receiver coming out of high school in the 2017 class and was forced to sit out most of his senior year after tearing his ACL early in the season. Fast forward through an LDS mission and some extra bulk to 235 pounds, he moved to linebacker before switching to tight end due to some injuries at the position. Now, Taniela clocks in at 247 pounds at the tight end spot. Pututau was a fluid athlete as a receiver, making him a potential pass catching threat as a tight end.

However, with the time he spent as a linebacker, a switch to the defense in the Utah hybrid role of defensive end/linebacker a la Koa Misi and Nate Orchard still seems like a possibility. Orchard made a similar progression from wide receiver to defensive end during his time at Utah, developing into one of the best pass rushers in school history. He’s a talent that needs to see the field, the question is, where? Stay tuned…

Remembering Pututau’s Recruitment

Taniela becoming a Ute never really felt like it was in question to me, as the 2017 three-star wide receiver (no. 79 at the position) narrowed his final schools to Utah and Gary Andersen’s Oregon State Beavers. Of course with Andersen’s ties to the state, the Beavers had been hitting Utah hard and doing well, but that wasn’t going to happen with Pututau.

The longtime Utah lean blew his knee out at the start of his senior season, so that also quieted his recruitment. During that time he joked with me that with his family genes, he wasn’t going to be a receiver, so he had been doing training as a defensive end during his rehab before his mission.