Meet College Free Agent OT Tevita Stevens

Posted by Chris Herting

Meet undrafted college free agent offensive tackle Tevita Stevens. The 6’3” 300 pound product was born in Hemet, Calif. He attended the University of Utah where he starred as a four-year starter at both guard and center.

As a senior, the honorable mention All-Pac-12 recipient started all 12 games and played every snap (746 in total for those counting).

Beyond the field, Stevens excelled in the classroom earning recognition as a four-time academic all-conference player and first-team Academic All-Pac-12 in 2011 and 2012.

However, it might be his journey to the NFL that is the more intriguing story.

You see, Stevens was no ordinary kid growing up in California. He was the son of Ron and Telekaki Stevens.

His father Ron played tennis at USC.

Stevens has four brothers, two of which had collegiate football careers – his brother Hamani plays center for the Oregon Ducks and his brother Chris played linebacker at BYU.

How’d he end up at Utah?

After graduating high school with a 4.1 GPA and receiving the history award and President’s academic award, the big offensive linemen was only offered one scholarship to play college football at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP).

However, he felt something was missing in his life.

According to a phone interview conducted by Brian Skinnell from The Skinny On Sports (read the full article here), Stevens had this to say:

“Following high school, I served a mission in New York City. I helped spread the word of the gospel to the people there. I learned Spanish and mainly spread the word to the people that spoke Spanish in New York,” said Stevens.

Following his mission trip, Stevens enrolled at Utah and earned a tryout with the football team. The rest is history.

He earned a spot on the team and his first year at Utah was definitely a year to remember. The freshman played in all 13 games at right guard with 10 starts and enjoyed an undefeated season which culminated in a rather convincing 31-17 victory versus the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 BCS Sugar Bowl.

Although the team was unable to replicate the almost unimaginable success of the 2008 undefeated season, Stevens continued to use it as motivation and improve on his own individual success. In fact, if you ask him, he’ll tell you that he’s more than ready to compete on the NFL level.

But why? Well, maybe because of his competition day in and day out at practice. Every day he went head to head with first-round pick and former teammate Star Lotulelei who made Stevens the player he is today.

“Star and I went against each other every day in practice and he is definitely the best defensive lineman I have ever gone against. He was definitely worth the first round selection. Going against him made me such a better player in many different ways,” said Stevens.

Whether Stevens ever plays a snap in the burgundy or gold or whether or not he makes the 53-man roster remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure and that is that he’s extremely excited to be in the Nation’s Capital.

Stevens concluded the interview saying, “I’m excited to be a Redskin and to be a part of the whole legacy of the organization. The winning tradition, the success, and the history is amazing.”