Recent Tokay graduate Fahad Akhlaq wasn’t a football player a little more than a year ago.

He dabbled in basketball as a freshman and sophomore, but took his junior year off from sports. That’s when his friends Carlos Casimiro and Nico Munguia talked him into going out for the Tokay football team.

Today, Akhlaq is preparing to play defensive tackle for the North team in the 49th-annual Lions All-Star Game, which is this Friday at Tracy High’s Wayne Schneider Stadium.

“Last year was my first year playing football at all,” Akhlaq said. “I knew I did good, but to get selected was a little better feeling about myself. Then the game, it’s just another chance to prove what I can do, how far I can go in football.”

Akhlaq was originally told he would be a defensive end and fullback for the Tigers, but that proved to be a fluid situation.

“Honestly, I was horrible in the beginning, and I didn’t think I’d get playing time,” Akhlaq said. “I did spring ball practice with them. I was going to play D-end, but they didn’t really like me at D-end, and they moved me to D-tackle after summer. In the beginning I sucked, but near the end I improved a lot, and I feel like have so much potential.”

During Tokay’s 5-5 campaign, the program’s first in the San Joaquin Athletic Association, Akhlaq played in eight games and finished with 27 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He was rewarded with a first-team All-SJAA selection.

“Honestly, I was just gonna do it for the pads, to look cool, and I fell in love with it,” Akhlaq said. “I liked it more and more, and now that I’m getting better, this all-star is just a sign of how far I can go in football.”

Akhlaq said the North team, with St. Mary’s coach Tony Franks at the helm, has had him playing defensive end during practice this week. The North team is made up of players from Manteca and Tracy up to Argonaut High in Jackson, and will face a South team led by Downey-Modesto’s Jeremy Plaa, with players from Gregori on the north end of Modesto down to Los Banos.

Beyond the all-star game, Akhlaq is making plans to continue playing in the college ranks.

“I had an offer for an NAIA school in Kansas, but I wanted to bet on myself and go the JUCO route. I’m leaning toward either Delta or Modesto College.”