Utah’s leading tackler considers himself lucky just to be playing football in college.

Kavika Luafatasaga, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior, grew up in Kalihi with five brothers and one sister.

After moving to Washington state for his first three years of high school, he returned home and enrolled as a senior at Farrington.

A cornerback for the Govs, Luafatasaga quit the football team before the playoffs. He then played on the basketball team before dropping out of school altogether.

A promising athlete with the potential to excel at the next level, Luafatasaga instead found himself with no path forward — no way to take advantage of his God-given talents.

“I sat out a year doing nothing basically, and then got my GED (General Education Diploma),” Luafatasaga said. “Once I got that, things began to change.”

One of the people he was living with had a connection to the Gridiron Performance Academy football camp and got Luafatasaga a spot in it.

It was the first time Luafatasaga had competed in any type of camp or showcase to show off his talents.

Because he dropped out of school, junior college was the only route available to Luafatasaga, who went to Arizona Western.

In two years, he racked up 159 tackles, including 191⁄2 tackles for loss and six sacks, and played himself into being rated as a four-star recruit by Scout.com.

He had been committed to Mississippi for close to a year before switching to Utah at the last second before signing day.

A surprise addition to the Utes’ recruiting class, Luafatasaga has made his presence felt from Day 1 as a towering linebacker who can also run.

He started his last eight games as a junior and had at least seven tackles in four of his last six games, including a season-high 12 in the Foster Farms Bowl against Indiana.

This season, he is leading the team with 66 tackles in 10 games for the Utes (5-5), who need a win over either Washington this weekend or Colorado the following weekend to become bowl eligible.

As a kid who barely made it out of high school, Luafatasaga isn’t overly concerned about how Utah finishes. All he’s concerned about is making the most of an opportunity he doesn’t think he should have gotten.

“Being a drop-out of high school, I never thought I would be where I am now,” Luafatasaga said. “Not a lot of drop-out kids will make it this far. It’s a good testimony for me and I know I use it to preach to a lot of other kids out there that are struggling and not going to school that you can still make it.

“Throughout this whole process I’ve kept my faith, and my pastor has always preached to me and encouraged me every day to do your best and have faith in God and he will show you the way and open the door for you and that’s what God did for me.”