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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- One of the most decorated defensive players in Tennessee Tech athletics history, defensive end D.J. Bleisath was named All-America by four different organizations, a three-time first-team all-OVC selection and was a national finalist for the 2001 Buck Buchanan Award as the most outstanding defensive player in all of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
Those credentials helped land Bleisath in the Class of 2015 of the TTU Sports Hall of Fame.
Bleisath is one of five people who will be inducted at the annual Hall of Fame Dinner, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, in the Multipurpose Room of the Roaden University Center. The induction dinner is part of Homecoming festivities. Tickets for the dinner, or the Saturday afternoon game against Austin Peay, can be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or by calling (931) 372-3940.
Bleisath wrapped up his Golden Eagle playing career by earning a spot in the 2003 Hula Bowl, a showcase of the most outstanding seniors in the nation. He was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent and spent the 2003 NFL training camp with that club, before embarking on a four-year career in the Arena Football League.
His AFL career began with one season as a member of the Tampa Bay Storm, followed by three years with the Chicago Rush. In 2005, he was selected as the AFL National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Los Angeles Avengers in a playoff victory, and in 2006 he helped the Rush win the Arena League Championship.
As a Golden Eagle, he wreaked havoc with opponent offenses, making himself a regular guest in the backfield and setting school records for quarterback sacks and tackles-for-loss.
After a redshirt season in 1998, Bleisath played in 10 games in 1999 in a reserve role, coming off the bench to help jump-start a defense that was nationally ranked. He became a starter in 2000 and was a third-team All-America selection with 23 tackles-for-loss and seven quarterback sacks. As a junior, he set the school standard with 24 tackles-for-loss for 125 yards, tops in the nation, and added 10 sacks. He was named first-team All-America that season, and followed as a consensus All-America selection, chosen to all four teams, as a senior. Double-teamed much of his final season, he finished with 53 total tackles including 10 tackles-for-loss, and forced three fumbles.
Altogether, he played in a double-digit number of contests every year, finishing with 42 career games with 32 career starts. During his final three years, he ran off a school-record string of 25 consecutive games with at least one tackle-for-loss. He wrapped up his Golden Eagle career with 185 total tackles including 61 tackles-for-loss and 20 quarterback sacks.
No slouch in the classroom, he was named five times to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, and received his bachelor’s degree in business management in December 2002.
After retiring from professional football, Bleisath has enjoyed a successful career with Ricoh USA. In 2012, he was the top-ranked Production Sales Specialist in the company out of 187 representatives. In 2013, he was promoted to Global Production Print Specialist with the company.
D.J. (David John) and his wife, Krista, live in Canton, Ga.
