Kailua alum Taleni makes biggest plays on biggest stages

As his Pittsburgh teammates stormed the field in Death Valley, defensive tackle Jeremiah Taleni pointed to the sky.

“You are something else,” Taleni remembered thinking as the final second ticked off the clock in the Panthers’ stunning 43-42 upset of No. 2 Clemson on Saturday. “All of my excitement came out in the locker room and it didn’t really hit me until I got back on the plane on the way home.”

The 2013 Kailua High alumnus made his first career start against the Tigers and sacked Heisman Trophy finalist Deshaun Watson twice to help the Panthers end the Tigers’ 23-game winning streak in the regular season.

His biggest play on defense came with a minute remaining. Leading 42-40, Clemson decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 35-yard line.

Instead of Watson, who threw for an ACC-record 580 yards, making the play, Clemson ran the ball with running back Wayne Gallman. Taleni helped string the play to the outside and the Panthers stopped him short of the first-down marker to take over possession.

Five plays later, Pittsburgh made a 48-yard field goal with six seconds remaining for the win.

“Basically (during) the game they were passing a lot and the run plays they (called) were usually trying to run it right up the middle and we had been stopping that,” Taleni said. “I had a feeling they were going to take it outside and sure enough, I read my keys based on the film I had been watching of the formation they came out in and they were outside.”

Taleni had four total tackles against Clemson a week after leading the team with eight in a loss to Miami.

Taleni had played in only four games this season before doubling his career tackles total in the game against the Hurricanes.

Injuries on the defensive line thrust Taleni into a more active role, and the 6-foot-2, 290-pound junior is taking full advantage of it.

“Obviously it’s taken a long time to earn a spot, but as soon as my opportunity came down when one of our starters got hurt, I had to capitalize on that,” Taleni said. “I got my first opportunity in the Virginia game, but I didn’t perform so well. But I got better as the weeks (went) by and I don’t know, something in the Miami game clicked and things have opened up.”

Taleni played well enough to earn his first start in one of the toughest places to play, against the national runners-up from last season in the Tigers.

It was the very reason he chose Pittsburgh out of high school on the Windward side of Oahu. Taleni remembers watching Manti Te’o play at Notre Dame on television against Pittsburgh when he first realized the kind of school he wanted to play for.

“I was watching almost all of (Te’o’s) games and the game he played Pitt when Pitt took them to the third overtime is when I decided I wanted to go to school like that,” Taleni said. “Just the way Pitt handled themselves the whole game and kept fighting through adversity and never giving up — a team that had that type of willpower and mind-set was a team I wanted to play for.”

Taleni says it was completely by chance, but weeks later, he received a phone call from then-Pittsburgh defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield, who is now at Wisconsin.

Pitt offered Taleni a scholarship and he committed soon after a visit to the campus with his mother.

“Pittsburgh being so far away didn’t really matter to me as long as I had the opportunity to play on the big stage,” Taleni said. “That was my big goal.”

Saturday was the realization of that big goal against Clemson.

The Panthers’ practice facility sits right by the training facility used by the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, giving Taleni a daily reminder of the next goal on his list.

“Every day it’s something I look at,” Taleni said. “Every day you’re reminded of what your future could look like if you work hard daily.”