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When Christian Mejia arrived at Washington State in 2017, he was a tall, lanky local boy from the Windward side of Oahu assigned the best task a football player could receive after going to college.
“Gain weight,” he said simply in a phone interview Tuesday.
Mejia was the first Kailua football player to make the Honolulu Star-Advertiser All-State team in consecutive seasons in more than a decade when he signed with the Cougars.
His skill-set matched with what Washington State coach Mike Leach was trying to build at the time as an athletic, well-rounded defensive end who also played tight end in high school, and it seemed only a matter of time until he earned serious playing time.
That time dragged on, and on, and on. After three years, and with a COVID-19 pandemic about to hit, Mejia had only played in two games.
But his focus and determination never wavered.
“Trusting the process,” Mejia said. “I knew my time would come eventually and the past couple of years have been my time.”
With the addition of a redshirt year and COVID year of eligibility, Mejia is now in his sixth season at Washington State.
He’s now hovering right around 100 pounds heavier than he did out of high school. Listed at 6 feet, 3 inches and 301 pounds, Mejia has gone from lanky kid to a starting defensive tackle in the Pac-12.
He had his first interception of his career in a road win over a ranked Wisconsin team and he’s coming off a sack in a win against Cal last weekend.
His play has helped Washington State amass a Pac-12-best 45 tackles for loss, ranking second in the nation, and a 4-1 record heading into this weekend’s game against No. 6 USC.
“I love our team this year,” Mejia said. “Everyone is bonding together more now that we’re getting closer and closer and building that brotherhood, trusting each other, and playing hard and playing fast.”
Washington State’s one loss this season was a three-point game against No. 15 Oregon. Mejia didn’t play in the game after getting a very important call the morning of the game.
“I got the call and I got to the hospital, but baby never came until that night,” Mejia said. “It was a long night.”
Mejia and his wife became parents to a baby boy. He’s now a father, and a husband and a football player.
His life has undergone a complete transformation from the time he first arrived in Eastern Washington.
“I love it (here),” Mejia said. “It reminds me a lot of back home. Country side so it’s a small town, slow place, just nice and easy like home.”
Mejia has played for three coaches while at Washington State, including former University of Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich, who was fired during the middle of last season for failing to comply with a mandate that required all state employees to receiver a COVID-19 vaccine.
Jake Dickert took over as the acting head coach to finish the season and then was named head coach heading into this year.
He’s gone 7-3 over that time, including the biggest margin of victory win in the history of the Apple Cup when the Cougars thumped Washington 40-13.
“It’s been great,” Mejia said of his third head coach in college. “I love his energy and how he brings everyone together. He gets everyone hyped and gets us all going in a different way.”
Mejia’s trust in the long term plan Washington State first laid out for him has gotten him to where he is now.
It’s nice to focus more on the tackles and sacks he’s starting to accumulate instead of having to check the number on a scale every day.
His focus now, he says, is very simple, which is how he’s tried to live his life.
Simple.
“Give it my all,” Mejia said. “This is my last year. I’ve just got to show up now. Show up and give it my all.”
A simple goal that hasn’t been so simple to achieve.
Christian Mejia
School: Washington State
Class: Senior
Position: DL
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 301 pounds
High school: Kailua (2017)
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