EL PASO, Texas -- Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea was 16 when he moved to the United States with his family and it didn't take long for this Tonga native to fall in love with two things closely tied to the American culture.

The first thing he fell in love with was American food, and given the fact that Paea weighs about 300 pounds, it isn't hard to figure out why.

But his love for food paled in comparison to the love he had for this exciting sport, which resembled his favorite sport, rugby, except it seemed to be played at a faster pace and the players wore a lot of funny-looking equipment.

And clearly it didn't take long before a match was made between athlete -- Paea had aspirations of becoming a professional rugby player in New Zealand -- and sport. He joined the Timpview High School football team in Provo, Utah, for his senior season and by the end of his first year had become a legitimate prospect.

This despite that he also was struggling to communicate because he didn't speak English when he arrived, just his native Tongan as well as Samoan (he lived in Samoa for a year before moving to the United States). He said once he learned the language and figured out how to put his helmet on, the game became very easy because it isn't that much different than rugby.

"The first time I tried on a helmet I couldn't see past the bars on it and couldn't understand how anyone could wear one of those things," Paea said. "But I slowly figured it out and it has become normal. The thing was when I moved here I realized that they didn't have rugby here, it just isn't an American sport, so I tried football and it was fun.

"I think I really fell in love with college football when I went to my first game; it was Texas at Kansas and Texas still had Vince Young and Cedric Benson. The crowds were so big and so loud and the bands and all that stuff -- I could tell it was something for me to try."

Paea, who has been slowed by a knee injury but is expected to start in the Sun Bowl Wednesday against Pitt, will be one of several players along the interior line who will be asked to try and slow down the Panthers' rushing attack, in particular LeSean McCoy.

The Beavers are still licking their wounds, however, after they were carved for 385 rushing yards in their season finale, a 65-38 loss to Oregon. Paea said that is one reason they have spent more time trying to fix some things about themselves than they have trying to figure out how to slow down McCoy.

"He's a very explosive running back and he can see things before they happen," Paea said. "But for us, it really comes down to doing a better job of executing our own defensive plays and filling our gaps and stuff. We didn't do that well in our last game and we have to wrap up because it seems like our main problem was wrapping up."

Paea, who calls Los Altos, Calif., home, has only played football for three seasons, his senior year in high school, one year at Snow Community College (he also redshirtted a year at Snow) and this season, but he is one of the top players on Oregon State's defense.

He has made 37 tackles, 11 for losses and also has five sacks, which is impressive given that he plays tackle, and his primary job is to take on blocks and take up space in the middle of the line.

Oregon State coach Mike Riley said that recruiting a player with so little experience was not a big deal because his athleticism was easy to see on film and, more importantly, his background as a rugby player meant he had a skill set easily transferable to football.

"He's been really good for us," Riley said. "It took very little time for him to make the transition from Rugby to football, he is an excellent athlete and he is a very natural player. Stephen has been an impact player for us this year. Once you have the basics, of size and strength, then it comes down to athletic ability and he came to us very strong and very athletic, so we haven't had to teach him much."