AFC?? Come on man. NFL! And yes, Mel Kiper aka Dracula did have a few negative things to say about our boy Haloti.
The man is just a freak. Most of the DT’s in the league today are used for strictly pressure on the opposing O-Line. Also, most of the DT’s are just fat slobs with barely any side to side movement. Haloti is not your typical DT. The man IS the best athlete in the NFL playing Defensive Tackle. He does everything.

Name me another DT in the NFL who drops back into coverage, and you see it regularly. Name me another DT in the NFL that is used on goal line offensive plays, and is actually a passing option on some of them. There is no one like Haloti in the NFL.

Ozzie knows football players. And just because you are Ngata’s size, does not mean you cannot do other things on the field. I mean, did anyone see those Rugby videos of him?!? Last thing I want is to see a 6’4" 325 pound Hawaiian or whatever he is, running at me when I have no pads on.

Best in the NFL, oh yea, he is only 24.

We do not let our true stars go in FA. Ray, Reed, Suggs, Boulware, are all guys that we built our D around, and therefore made sure they remained Ravens. I think we are going to have the privilege of watching Ngata become one of the top D players in the game over the next 5-10 years. He is a special player, almost to the extent of a Ray or Reed, and will remain a huge part of the Ravens identity going forward.

to find a video of Ngata playing rugby as a kid. I remember seeing a clip of it before or during a game once and it was hilarious. At 12, he was bigger than the parents on the side line.

US All American Bowl
press conference

So he’s not a man of many words. But when you are his size, you find that words are frivolous and it’s best to just get your hands dirty. Or maybe he is just shy.

His mother describes him as a “normal kid” who does normal things like hanging out with friends, going to movies, chatting on the phone and even the favorite pastime of all teenagers, over sleeping. But one look at him and you know he is not an ordinary teenager.

Etuini Haloti Moala Ngata stands at 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 310 lbs. He towers over his classmates at Highland High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he is a senior with a dominating presence. He is also the reigning Homecoming King and one of the few Tongan students at the predominately white school where he is known simply as Haloti.

But his presence also carries onto the football field and big time coaches all over the nation noticed. Haloti is a hot commodity… he just so happens to be the top high school football recruit in the country. “Coaches kept calling. They just wouldn’t leave us alone” said his number one fan, supporter and mother, ‘Ofa Moala Ngata, at a banquet hosted by the Highland Pacific Islanders Parents Association for Highland’s Tongan graduates. She finally asked his coach to take over recruiting duties and answer the mountain of letters from universities nationwide, an experience she described as insanely overwhelming.

It all began in April 2001, when Haloti was invited to participate at the prestigious Nike Football Camp in Texas. College coaches armed with clipboards and videocameras would form a line and rate the players. “It was like a beauty pageant but instead of girls it was boys.” said ’Ofa. And it was because of his outstanding performance at the camp that word of this big kid from Salt Lake City spread through out the nation like wildfire.

The first school to come knocking was the football powerhouse Nebraska. Highland football coach Ray Groth, who describes Haloti as a man of a few words but leads by action and example, recounted the first recruiting trip to Nebraska. The coaches were utterly floored by his speed (he runs the 40 yard dash in 4.87) and versatility, clearly outshining the other recruits. He returned to Nebraska 3 more times before making a verbal commitment to be a Cornhusker.

Nike Camp in Texas

But then other schools were also knocking and by process of elimination, Haloti and his parents watered the list down to BYU, Utah, UCLA, Texas A&M, Washington, Oregon State and Oregon, which led to a highly tense and well publicized recruiting war. Because of religious reasons, Haloti reneged his verbal commitment to Nebraska. ‘Ofa explained that her son wants to serve a mission for his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Nebraska’s coaches couldn’t guarantee that they would release him, so Haloti decided to look elsewhere.

Because BYU is a church owned school, Haloti gave them a verbal commitment, much to the elation of the BYU coaching staff. But like all things, nothing is guaranteed until you sign the dotted line and in the eleventh hour of signing day, he completely changed his mind and picked Oregon. Internet bulletin boards on High School sports lit up all over the nation with the shocking news. BYU was not happy, complaining in the national media that Haloti’s uncle, former Ute Haloti Moala, who is also a Highland assistant coach, influenced his decision to go with Oregon.

‘Ofa however tells us the real story. I asked her “Why Oregon?” and it all came down to Haloti’s desire to play for a top notch program that was out of the state, where he could earn a degree in Education ( he wants to be a teacher or a coach) but most important, they would honor his religious obligations. Lucky for him, the wife of Oregon’s head coach is also LDS. A last minute recruiting trip to Oregon with his parents warmed their collective hearts over and after a period of divine supplication, Haloti and his parents, even though they were staunch BYU fans, made a concerted decision to go with the Ducks.

In the meantime, the accolades are rolling in and piling up. Parade Magazine named him to their All-American Team list, Gatorade tagged him “Utah Player of the Year”, he was picked as a two time 1st team Utah All State Selection, featured in USA Today as one of the top 10 defensive players in the nation, picked by Student Sports as the No. 1 Defensive Player in the country, picked by PacWest as the No. 1 player in the West and he recently participated in the prestigious US All-American Bowl where he anchored the defense to victory. He also wrestles and plays rugby for Highland, who are the national high school rugby champions. And he does all this while maintaining a 3.4 GPA.

After receiving his award of recognition at the banquet, Haloti humbly took the mike to thank the most important circle of people who have made him what he is today…his coach, his parents, his uncle and mentor Haloti Moala. ’Ofa said “God has blessed me with such a wonderful son. If there is one word to describe Haloti, it would be obedient…he is very obedient.” ’Ofa, a former PTA president, also works at Highland as a truancy officer and is very supportive and involved in the academic activities of her children.

During our interview, she revealed to me a telling story of Haloti’s rise to prep stardom. When Haloti entered high school (not at Highland), the football coach didn’t even give him a look and Haloti was reduced to the sidelines. Then the coach recommended that he go and play at a Jr. League level. And like a concerned, attentive mother, totally aware of her son’s potential, ’Ofa rang up her brother Haloti Sr. at Highland, they secured permission from the district for Haloti to transfer and the rest you could say is history. Somewhere out there, an out of touch coach is kicking himself in the butt.