Deer Valley High School has three in the National Football League as 2015 season begins

By Steve Dulas Sports Legends Staff Writer

Deer Valley High School will be well represented when the National Football League season begins this week, with two former Wolverines expected to see plenty of playing time on the field and a third waiting in the wings. In Oakland, running back Taiwan Jones DVHS 2007, begins his fifth season with the Raiders as the No. 2 running back, behind Latavius Murray and ahead of off-season acquisition Roy Helu Jr.. Jones, who was a fourth-round pick of the Raiders out of Eastern Washington in 2011, averaged a team-best 5.4 yards per carry during the preseason. After two seasons as a backup running back, the Raiders moved Jones (6-foot, 195 pounds) to defensive back in 2013, but first-year coach Jack Del Rio brought him back to the offensive side of the ball this season.

Also Sunday, 2007 Deer Valley High graduate Sterling Moore will begin his sixth NFL season by looking Heisman Trophy winner quarterback Marcus Mariotta in the eye when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play host to the Tennessee Titans. Moore (5-10, 202 pounds) is listed behind Alterraun Verner at left cornerback for Tampa Bay, but has had plenty of playing time in his career. Moore, who played collegiately at Southern Methodist, appeared in all 16 games, starting seven, for the Dallas Cowboys last season. He has three career interceptions, including one returned 21 yards for a touchdown as a rookie with New England in 2011, and his two key defensive plays in the final minute of the AFC Championship game helped the Patriots reach Super Bowl XLVI. He was acquired by Dallas midway through the 2012 season, and signed this year with Tampa Bay as a free agent.

Waiting his turn for a chance to step on the field is offensive lineman De’Ondre Wesley DVHS 2010 (6-7, 337 pounds), a rookie out of BYU who is on the Baltimore Ravens’ 10-man practice squad. Wesley started every game as a senior at BYU in 2014, and was selected first-team Independents All-America by College Sports Madness.