Tevita Pome’e, fast-rising Utah lineman, commits to Oregon Ducks over USC, Washington, others

247Sports three-star defensive lineman Tevita Pome’e came to Layton Christian Academy (Utah) from Tonga in 2019 “with not a lick of English as a rugby player,” according to LCA linebacker/running back coach Eric Moala-Liava’a.

“He joined the football team… and literally had to learn how to put on shoulder pads and a helmet,” he said.

But the 6-foot-3, 315-pound two-way lineman quickly made the adjustment to football.

On Friday, Pome’e announced his commitment to Oregon over offers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon State, USC, Washington and several others.

How quickly Pome’e adjusted to football is an incredible achievement, but it’s even more eye-opening given what he has helped build at Layton Christian Academy, an international boarding school with roughly 500 students from kindergarten through high school.

During his first season, LCA went 1-9 and fired its coach — ensuring a run of five coaching staffs in four years.

As a junior, Pome’e registered 53 tackles, 7 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks defensively, while anchoring a Layton Christian offensive line that helped produce two 1,000-yard rushers.

Perhaps more impressive, Pome’e was a team leader for a program that went from 1-9 the previous year to a state runner-up showing at the 1A level, earning them the Standard-Examiner’s Team of the Year Award.

With his commitment, Pome’e is the first Power 5 conference pledge in school history.

For Oregon, he marks the second addition to the 2023 recruiting class, joining Basha High School (Chandler, Arizona) four-star cornerback Cole Martin.