Cousins Breiden and T.J. Fehoko are America's top high school football sack leaders

They live in different states, approximately 3,000 miles apart. They rarely, if at all, converse. They have two distinctly different personalities.

But T.J. Fehoko of Cottonwood (Salt Lake City) and Breiden Fehoko of Farrington (Honolulu), will be forever linked, most obviously for their last names.

They are, after all, first cousins and share the same grandfather, the late Tevita Fehoko. Both are big, quick, menacing junior defensive linemen and both make a habit of wreaking havoc on poor, defenseless quarterbacks.

Last week, in fact, they ranked No. 1 and 2 on the MaxPreps national sack leader board — T.J. with 20.5 and Breiden at 18. After quiet weekends – Farrington had a bye – they rank third and seventh now, but who's counting?

Both are destined to play college football — Breiden is the No. 45 recruit overall from the Class of 2015 according to 247Sports — and perhaps beyond.

This is the Fehoko family, after all, one with a rich lineage of football standouts.

Breiden's oldest brothers — Whitley (San Diego State) and Sam (Texas Tech) — played college football and his older brother V.J. is currently a middle linebacker at the University of Utah, which just stunned No. 5 Stanford.

"I do carry a lot of pride in our last name," Breiden said. "I definitely embrace it all more than feel a burden."

T.J.'s older brother S.J. Fehoko is a hard-hitting 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior defensive back for Cottonwood and leads the team in tackles with 75. Besides the long line of talented Fehokos, who are of Tongan decent, the lineage of football stars on T.J.'s mother side is also large. 

His mom Lillian, whose maiden name is Alofipo, is Samoan.

Among the family members from T.J.'s mom and dad include former University of Washington strong safety Paxton Tailele, who starred in the early 1990s, NFL fullback Harvey Unga (most recently with the Bears) and 2010 MaxPreps All-American running back Harvey Langi, of Bingham (South Jordan, Utah).

According to T.J.'s father John Fehoko, who is also an assistant coach at Cottonwood, between he and his wife's family, several dozens have played football at the the college level.

"We're proud of all our family members," John Fehoko said. "I think it's all good motivation for the younger generation to carry on the legacy. It's always time for the next generation to step up."

T.J., named after his mother's father Toso John Lee, is definitely a free spirit, and at 6-2 and 255 with excellent speed — he runs sprints and throws the shot put on the track team — quarterbacks are rarely safe. Because of injury and his versatility, T.J. has played several positions this season — offensive tackle and guard, defensive line and inside and outside linebacker.

He's amassed all his sacks in just six games, recording five and a half each in two different games, and four each in two other games. He earned defensive MVP honors at the Haloti Ngata & Ed Mulitalo camp in Utah last summer, and has backed it up with a stellar junior season, which includes 58 tackles, 13 of which have gone for loss besides the sacks.

"He's been all over the place," John Fehoko said. "Whatever it takes."

Breiden hasn't seen much of his cousin – his dad Vili is an older brother of John Fehoko — over the years, but he's read a lot about him. John Fehoko moved his family from Hawaii to Texas, then Utah in 1999.

"What I hear is that he's a phenomenal athlete. Exceptional," Breiden said of T.J.. "But he's definitely a different type of player than me."

Breiden is a 6-3, 280-pound interior lineman who has played defensive end in the past. This is his first year of battling strictly inside and though his statistics say otherwise – he has 56 tackles, 14 for loss other than sacks — Breiden said that it's definitely been a season of transition.

He's led Farrington to a 6-2 record and hopes to carry the school to its first state title. Farrington has won at least nine games in four of the last five seasons.

"I think my play and our team's play still has a lot of room for improvement," he said. "I think you can expect a lot more from Farrington and Breiden Fehoko."

Colleges definitely are expecting a lot. And they like a kid who is full of confidence and speaks in the third person.

Breiden is getting bombarded with offers, including ones from Alabama, Clemson, Utah and Oklahoma. He said he's completely focused on the season and will start his recruiting process sometime after National Signing Day in February.

"It's awesome to get all these letters and attention," he said. "But I'm going to take it slow with my recruiting. It's going to take a while to narrow my decision. I'm just focused on winning a state championship."

As far as ways he can improve his game, Breiden said: "Simple hand placement. I was used to coming off the edge so this is a transition."

Asked about his strengths: "I think my explosiveness and combination of power and speed and technique. But I can always get better. I just keep striving to improve."

That, T.J. said, is what makes his cousin so good. 

"What I like about Breiden is that beyond being very confident, he really stays hungry," T.J. said. "He never lets up. Each and every week I think he comes out harder."

Any chance the cousins could wind up at the same college? T.J. said he's going to watch closely where his brother ends up, which might very well be at Utah, one of Breiden's early favorites.

"You never know what can happen," Breiden said.