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Pleasant Grove • Jason Fanaika shows up 10 minutes late to his own party.

By the time he pulls up to his father's house in his Kia Forte with his wife and 9-month-old daughter, Jason has been awake for three hours, worked out at a Crossfit gym across town, showered and dressed to hear what his football future holds.

He hasn't eaten, and he won't for at least three more hours.

"Not hungry," he says. "Lifting just helps me with my stress."

Saturday marks the end of a long journey for Fanaika, whose college football career spans two programs over six years. Since the defensive end finished his senior year at Utah with a Las Vegas Bowl win in December, he played in the Senior Bowl in January, battled through the NFL Combine in February and turned heads at Utah's Pro Day in March.

But the final challenge for the 23-year-old is doing nothing. The work and interviews are behind him now. The 2016 NFL draft wraps up Rounds 4 through 7, and 155 men will be picked to go to the next level.

With an empty stomach and blood pumping through the thick muscles of his 6-foot-2, 270-pound frame, Fanaika can only wait.

Work ethic

Jason's parents, Sefita and Navu Fanaika, have arranged well-worn couches and mismatched chairs in their garage around a TV, airing the NFL Network broadcast of the draft. Every 10 to 20 minutes, the wireless signal cuts out, leaving a preposterously slow loading bar.

Even as Jason and his wife, Brittney, sit on one of the couches waiting for Jason's name to be called, they realize they might miss the actual moment.

"I've been feeling anxiety all week," Brittney says, folding her hands. "I'm excited for a new future, but it's hard not to worry about it."

The real signal that something is happening will be a phone call — a team's general manager or front office staff, letting Jason know that he is getting selected.

Jason scrolls through social media on his phone, which is conspicuously silent. The men of the Fanaika family watch the television and cross their arms.

It's really a special occasion: It's rare for the Fanaikas to be together. Four of Jason's eight siblings live in California, including his younger brother Brandon Fanaika, who is expecting to start on Stanford's offensive line this fall.

Brandon, like his older brother, has muscular arms and legs sprouting from his thick torso. Unlike Jason, most expected the four-star recruit to be a star. When he picked the Cardinal, he had a news conference at his high school.

Jason had to work for it. The Pleasant Grove product was only 220 pounds coming out of high school, but lived in the gym. Throughout his days at Utah State and then Utah, he relentlessly challenged his limits until he was among the strongest of his peers. He led the Utes with a 830-pound squat and a 495-pound bench press.

Translating the effort to the field, Fanaika had nine sacks and 108 tackles in two seasons, rotating between defensive end and linebacker for the Utes.

"Growing up, I was kind of the one with the talent," Brandon says. "Jason always had the work ethic. He deserves this kind of attention. He's always been the one I've looked up to."

Family man

Midway through Round 5, more people have arrived to the house. The promise of food is hours away, as the smell of blackening chicken fills up the garage. At least a dozen children are scurrying around the driveway, chasing one another and making faces.

But the adults are still watching the TV. Between short breaks when he kisses his daughter Loumaile on her cheeks as she grabs his shirt, Jason's expression is cast in stone. His eyes flicker between the campy draft broadcast — gimmicks include a ziplining Jaguar mascot to the lectern — to his phone, which is still not ringing.

In the opposite corner of the garage, Bret Frampton frowns.

"Well, this process is just brutal, isn't it?" he says, stroking his chin.

No NFL team has more reason to look for character concerns than Bret: He's Jason's father-in-law. But Brittney's parents say they've always found Jason "extremely respectful," even from when the couple began dating. Jason didn't take her out late to all hours — many of the dates were supervised, up until the couple married in 2013.

One of the hardest parts of the draft process, Bret says, is not knowing where his granddaughter will be. Jason, Brittney and Loumaile might be moving together soon, perhaps to Foxborough, Mass., or Jacksonville, Fla.

Navu has the same concern. She deals with her anxiety by fretting around the kitchen, chopping carrots and green onions for salads, and taking over grilling duties, which traditionally fall to Sefita. She doesn't watch much of the draft.

"I'm trying not to pay attention," she says, laughing. "I just want to get everything ready."

While she worries about where Jason will go to play football, she's comforted by the thought that he always comes home when he's most needed.

The family was in dire straits in 2012, when Sefita was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. With Sefita on bed rest, it fell to Navu to prepare meals, shuttle kids around, care for her husband and carry a full-time job.

"At that time, I said to myself, 'I don't think I can do this,'" she says. "I would go to work, go into the bathroom and just cry."

Jason left his LDS Church mission in Indianapolis. He helped feed his father and drive his siblings around. He worked five jobs — from being a credit consultant to selling steel, as he told The Tribune last year — to offset Sefita being out of work and help the family scrape by.

In remission for the past three years, Sefita proudly sticks out his chest while wearing his Utah polo shirt.

"It's amazing that this day has come," he says. "I didn't think it would happen."

The call

As the sixth round draws to a close around 3 p.m., Jason gets a phone call. It's his agent, Kenny Zuckerman. In between long pauses, Jason mostly offers one-word sentences: "OK. Uh-huh. Right."

He hangs up.

"He's just telling me to stay positive," Jason says, his shoulders slightly slumped.

The television signal cuts out again, this time not even showing the loading bar. The NFL draft has blacked out at the Fanaika house.

Then another call — different from the last one. As Jason doubles over on the couch with the phone pressed to his ear, his siblings whisper and gesture excitedly. They unsheathe phones to record the moment. Even Navu steps one foot out of the house, watching with eager eyes.

"I promise you I'll do whatever needs to be done to bring a Super Bowl to San Francisco," he says. "I'm gonna make you guys look like geniuses."

After hanging up, Jason fills in the blanks: The 49ers say they're thinking about drafting him with the fifth-to-last pick of the draft. No guarantees.

Suddenly the once-suspended atmosphere of the garage is alive with activity. Marinated chicken and tri-tip steak are heaped onto paper plates alongside steaming rice and piles of potato and crab salad. As they eat, the adults scoot in closer toward the TV, which Jason resets for the draft. They're no longer hoping for something to happen, they're waiting for it to happen.

Only … it doesn't happen. With the 249th pick, the Niners select a cornerback. Everyone groans except Jason and Brittney, who have already spirited inside the house to talk undrafted free agent options with Jason's agent.

Together, they settle on San Francisco, even though the 49ers didn't draft Jason. It will put them close to family, and Jason can play linebacker, his preferred position in the NFL. He will officially sign later that afternoon.

As the second-to-last draft choice is announced, Jason re-emerges with Loumaile cradled in one massive paw. He mutes the television, and thanks everyone for coming.

"Today didn't end how I hoped, but I'm going to make sure a lot of teams regret not drafting me," he says, giving Loumaile another kiss. "But your love and respect mean everything to us."

The draft ends, and he turns away to walk toward Brittney — facing his future with the ones he loves.

kgoon@sltrib.com Twitter: @kylegoon