MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – When a regular person on the street sees Marcus Fakatou, they cannot believe he’s just a freshman in high school.

It is actually pretty hard to believe since the 2028 defensive end from Orange (Calif.) Lutheran measured a smidge taller than 6-foot-7 and 276 pounds at Sunday’s Rivals Camp Series stop here in Southern California.

“They’re shocked just looking at me,” Fakatou said.

“The first thing people ask me is if I can move at my size because not only am I tall but I’m 270 so I have a lot of weight on me. I just tell them I can move and I’m flexible with it.”

Fakatou is for real. He played as a freshman in arguably the best high school football league in the country – and looked really good at times. His physical size and 80-inch wingspan, which was among the best among defensive linemen at Sunday’s camp, reminds one of DeForest Buckner at the same stage.

Buckner, a former four-star from Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou, played at Oregon, was the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and is still in the league.

The Orange Lutheran standout isn’t thinking that far ahead – yet – as he’s learning the ropes at the high school level.

“That was definitely a big thing for me,” Fakatou said. “I walked in last season with the mindset that if I get a chance to step on the field I’m going to ball out because there was a starter before me so I didn’t think I was going to get that much playing time.

“Once he got injured and I got the chance to step up, I kind of took it all in. I messed up a couple times but I was able to take it all in and learn from it so next season I’ll know what to expect going into it.

“I just look as every opportunity to get better. I like to be humble. If I lose, I lose but at least I’m learning. I take something from every rep – win or lose. I’ll take something from everything and learn from it.”

What has also helped Fakatou’s matriculation to dominating at the high school level was that he’s surrounded by other elite players at Orange Lutheran who have gone or are going through the recruiting process.

Five teammates signed with Power Four programs this past recruiting cycle led by quarterback TJ Lateef to Nebraska and tight end Aaron Ia to Arizona State. Four-star Talanoa Ili is a superstar linebacker in this class. There are many others and Fakatou is learning something from them all.

“They told me to keep my head straight,” Fakatou said.

“A lot of college coaches are going to sell you and tell you things you want to hear but all those things you’re not really going to get it when it comes to recruiting. They told me to keep my head straight and don’t buy into it right away and to keep the main thing the main thing.”

The main thing in recruiting right now is that Oregon is Fakatou’s dream school and the team to beat early on.

The 2028 defensive end is close with Dave Uiagalelei, whose son, Matayo, already plays for the Ducks. USC and Notre Dame are also heavily involved early in Fakatou’s recruitment but there is another player he’s looked up to growing up that could pull him to Eugene.

“Haloti Ngata went there and he’s a d-tackle and I loved watching him,” Fakatou said. “He’s Polynesian, Tongan, like me so seeing him go there definitely made me want to follow his footsteps over there.”