Holladay • Sam Ngata was five years old when he realized his dad was not like the other dads in his kindergarten class.
“I was wearing my dad’s jersey to school one day,” Ngata said. “My class was like, ‘Your dad’s in the NFL?’ and I was like, ‘Your dad’s not in the NFL?’”
But even compared to other children of professional athletes, Ngata’s father was a step above the rest.
Haloti Ngata made five straight Pro Bowls from 2009 to 2013 and was a five-time All-Pro.
He was one of the key pieces on the Baltimore Ravens team that won the 2013 Super Bowl. Sam was only three years old during that Super Bowl win, but he still remembers the purple and gold confetti raining down in the New Orleans Superdome.
He thought that was normal.
“His whole childhood, he was hanging out with NFL players,” Haloti said. “I have a picture of Ray Lewis holding him up in the air; Joe Flacco gave him hugs. … He got to be around some really good players and great athletes.”
Sam has turned into a pretty good player in his own right.
The Olympus High senior is the No. 13 recruit in the state and a top-100 linebacker nationally.
He is a modern hybrid linebacker who can drop back into coverage but is also a threat as an edge rusher.
(per Sam Ngata) Olympus linebacker Sam Ngata is following in his dad's footsteps to Oregon.
“When you turn on the tape, he’s just the best player on the field,” Olympus head coach Casey Evans said. “He’s smart, he does his job and he sacrifices. He’s willing to do whatever we ask of him.”
Sometimes that’s playing tight end; sometimes that’s beating a left tackle off the snap; sometimes it’s dropping back and playing in the secondary. He is one of the most versatile players in the state.
Sam, 17, stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 215 pounds — roughly 100 pounds less than his defensive tackle father weighed at the same age.
Football fans in Utah may remember his father’s recruitment.
In 2002, Haloti was the top-rated defensive lineman in all of prep football. BYU was strongly in the mix. So was Nebraska. But ultimately, Haloti chose to go to Oregon, becoming “the biggest recruit in our history,” according to then-Ducks coach Mike Bellotti.
Haloti lived up to that billing. Now his son is following in his footsteps.
Like his father, Sam had offers from BYU, Utah and Nebraska (along with many others). And just like his father, he committed to Oregon.
To Sam, that was always the only real option.
“I grew up a Ducks fan. I’ve wanted to go there since I was a little kid,” Sam said. “I just couldn’t see myself going anywhere else.”
At Oregon, Sam says the Ducks’ coaching staff wants to utilize him primarily on the edge as a potential defensive end. To do that, Sam said he’s gained more than 20 pounds from his junior season to now. He is still focusing on adding weight and becoming a fiercer pass rusher.
Sam believes he can make the Ngata family legacy at Oregon “even greater than it already is.”
Haloti, who is now an assistant coach at Olympus High, pushed back on Sam’s eagerness to commit to Dan Lanning’s squad in Eugene. At least a little.
When Sam was offered by the Ducks in November 2025, he was ready to commit on the spot.
“Can I commit now?” Sam asked his father.
But Haloti wanted to make sure his son visited other campuses and made a decision for himself, rather than one for his family.
Two months after the offer, he chose to be a Duck. He will graduate this winter and plans to enroll at Oregon in time for spring practice.
“If I can elevate the legacy, if I can make it any better and strengthen that last name, that’s all I want to do,” Sam said.