Who is No. 52?

Eastern Washington quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell dropped back to pass. Down 17-14 in the waning moments, the Eagles had one last chance to tie or best the Montana Grizzlies inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

 The sellout crowd stood as Mitchell fired to his wide receiver in the left slot, but the ball slipped through his hands as he was tackled.

 Linebacker John Kanongata'a, better known as J.P. to his teammates, short for John Paul, raced to position himself beneath the descending ball. His short, powerful legs jabbed like pistons.

 "I saw the ball in the air and my eyes just got so wide open," John says. "It was just candy."

 He snatched the ball out of the air for his first career interception and packed it into his arms. He returned it nine yards before kneeling to the turf, sealing the win.

 John's astounding campaign, which included a team-high 12 tackles and a key sack, left fans wondering: Who is this guy with the last name that barely fits on the back of his jersey? Who is No. 52?

 The truth is John wasn't supposed to be there. He got into the game after starter Jordan Tripp was injured. But then again, John isn't supposed to be playing for the Montana Grizzlies. He's not supposed to be playing college football.

He's not even supposed to be alive.

John, a 19-year-old sophomore, talks with a soft but defined voice. His eyes are velvety brown, matching his Tongan skin. Muscles round his arms, along with cuts and bruises across his forearms that never seem to disappear. His black curly hair, almost always pulled back in a ponytail, drapes his shoulder blades, usually covering ‘Kanongata'a' and part of the ‘52' on the back of his jersey on game days.

 John started developing his mane in 2007 during his sophomore year at Bellevue High School in Washington. If the Wolverines football team makes the playoffs, the seniors shave the rookies' hair, unless they're growing it out.

"I had the ugliest afro in high school," he says with a laugh.

 After four years of football at Bellevue High, John's playing time with the Grizzlies almost never happened.

At the end of his senior season at Bellevue, John didn't get many looks from colleges. His 5-foot-11, 220 pound frame deterred scouts. They said he was too short to play at the next level. He needed to be about four inches taller. At the time, John's family struggled to pay the bills. His dad Loka was retired after a long career with United Airlines and his mom Taiana had lost her job working on airplane parts for Boeing and had to take nighttime in-home nursing work.

 "My family is not the richest," John says. "It was either I got a scholarship and went to college or I had to get a job. I knew football was my only chance.

"I wanted to show everyone I could play."

After the Bellevue coaches sent droves of John's highlight tapes to colleges around the Northwest, the Montana State Bobcats called to offer John a scholarship. He accepted, thinking it was his only shot. After traveling to Bozeman for an official recruiting visit, John's father felt it was the best fit.

 "My dad just got overwhelmed by everything there with how nice the coaches were," John says. "He didn't really think how I felt about it. He just said, ‘That's the place you're going.'"

 But John's first choice was the University of Montana. He didn't know much about Montana football until he heard tales during his senior year from two of his former teammates at Bellevue High, Cam Warren and Peter Nguyen, both freshmen for the Grizzlies at the time.

Hearing about running through the tunnel into a raucous Washington-Grizzly Stadium on fall Saturdays, John felt he knew what it must be like. Like hearing someone tell you how smooth an old Camaro used to run, before it was put on blocks, covered and stowed away. The most you can do is run your fingers over the body and imagine.

"I didn't even have to come here for a visit to know I wanted to play for Montana," John says, looking across the stadium as snow flurries dance on the turf.

 But some members of the UM football coaching staff were concerned about his relative lack of size, thinking he wouldn't fit the bill as a Grizzly linebacker. Current head coach Robin Pflugrad — then Montana's wide receivers coach — and former secondary and linebackers coach Mike Hudson sought to persuade the defensive staff that John deserved a chance.

 "Mike was big on him, but the coaching staff was looking into some other linebackers at the time," Pflugrad says. "I stepped in. I really wanted him after I watched his highlights."

 After a few weeks of waiting, John got the call he coveted. The Grizzlies wanted to add him to the roster. It was a no-brainer for John. He pulled his pledge to the Bobcats and signed his letter of intent to play football for the University of Montana in spring of 2010.

"My dad and I got into a fight about the switch," John says. "He felt that strongly about Montana State, but I told him, ‘Dad, this is where I want to go.'"