Hard work in class helps Fehoko land Kansas State scholarship
Tevita Fehoko
Committing to academic achievement made all the difference for the 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive lineman out of City College of San Francisco.
Fehoko, of West High fame, signed with Kansas State of the power five Big 12 Conference and will have two years of eligibility.
“I can’t wait to get started,” he told me. “One of the Kansas State coaches warned me how hard they work and that the experience I’m about to come in to will be different, but I’m ready for it.”
That’s because he worked harder for this opportunity than anything else in his life. Forced to really apply himself in school, Fehoko responded with resolve and delivered an honor-roll performance.
“Basically, knowing that you are borderline and if you don’t do it you won’t get your D1 scholarship opportunity. That basically kicked in,” he said. “In high school, I was in the same situation and I told myself I wasn’t going to do it again.”
Message received.
Fehoko changed his study habits, intensified his focus and asserted his will on the books like he does with blockers on the football field.
“I used up all the resources. I stayed late at the library, used the computers at the student center,” he said. “On weekends, I would review stuff and touch up on a few things.”
The extra work paid huge dividends has he finished the semester with a 3.3 grade-point average to raise his cumulative GPA to 2.8.
“That’s, like, my highest GPA ever,” he said. “It was crazy.”
Fehoko was rewarded with a chance to play in the Big 12. He picked K-State over Middle Tennessee, Colorado State and Hawaii.
The defensive lineman is beast at the line of scrimmage, where he gets off blocks with terrific technique and swallows up ballcarriers with pure power.
In 17 career games at City College of San Francisco, he collected 32 tackles, two sacks and blocked field goal. He could make an immediate impact on run defense.
“They want me to come there and play right away and compete,” Fehoko said. “It feels great. This process was long, but it worked out in the end. I just need to keep with it and stay focused.”