If Sam Ngata's name were Sam Jones, he would still be a great pickup for Oregon. The fact that he's the son of College Football Hall of Famer and five-time NFL Pro Bowler Haloti Ngata just makes this homecoming that much sweeter.
The son is a 6-4, 215-pound linebacker from Olympus High in Salt Lake City, Utah, a four-star player first offered by the Ducks when he visited for the USC game. He chose the Ducks over Cal, Michigan and BYU.
Scott Reed of Duck Sports Central wrote, "Ngata plays with physicality and confidence, leaning into contact rather than avoiding it. His size-speed combination allows him to be effective attacking gaps, scraping over the top, and finishing plays in space."
The ability to attack the hole and plug gaps will remind Duck fans of a couple of former Utah products who developed at UO, Jeffrey Bassa and Noah Sewell, like Ngata, both Utah products. Reed notes the Olympus junior has the frame to gain good weight and great instincts.
He sports a 3.7 GPA in addition to standing out on the football field.
Sam runs to contact and chases down the football. He wraps up on the blitz, pursues with intensity, shows good hands as a part-time offensive player, runs with authority. He meets the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage, driving him back at the goal line, wraps up on a blitz.
While it's a great story that he's following his father, Ngata's play and high-level effort stands on its own. He told Max Torres of On3 Sports, "If you’re a recruit, what more could you want in a program?"