The circle of life: Fehoko family legacy continues at TTU

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - Family is everything.

Three words that define the lifestyle of all 6 members of Vili and Linda Fehoko's family.

If that last name sounds familiar, it could be because of two of their sons have been star players for the Red Raider football team.

Or perhaps you're familiar with Vili the Warrior, iconic performer on the sideline at every University of Hawaii football game.

But if you're a high school football fan, it's likely you've read about 5-star Defensive Lineman Breiden Fehoko.

The Hawaii native from Farrington High School will graduate early, pack his bags and move in to Lubbock Texas to join his brothers Sam and VJ.

Sam is a graduate assistant for the Tech football team and VJ just finished his senior year.

Their oldest son, Whitley, followed his dream of college football at San Diego State University.

But the Fehoko family legacy at Texas Tech began in 2007 with Sam.

"Coming here to Texas Tech definitely opened up a door for my younger brothers, VJ and Breiden," Sam says. "And I'm definitely thankful for God's plan."

That plan that allowed him to remain at tech as a graduate assistant for VJ, recruited by Tech after high school but chose the University of Utah instead.

But before finishing his career, fate came into play.

"He didn't really get a fair shot his last year," Linda says. "But he got that here. Our family was embraced, to see how VJ was given a second chance to love the game. And it meant the whole world to Breiden."

Young Breiden, the final chapter in this one of a kind trilogy.

He says it's the element of family that makes Lubbock feel so right.

"It's going to be just like not leaving home, but going to another home," Breiden says. "Sam and VJ aren't going to let me slip off one beat and that's one thing I needed. If I want to make it in life and chase my dreams of football that's one thing I needed. People to be there with me along the way."

It's what VJ calls the circle of life, the legacy being reborn by the next brother in the Fehoko family line.

"I mean it's kind of like fulfilling a childhood dream," VJ says. "My brother playing here, me coming here, my younger brother playing here."

"It's a dream come true, especially coming off the islands. To represent Hawaii." says Breiden.

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