College Career
A devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Ngata said he felt most at home at Brigham Young University, but struggled to make his college decision. He eventually signed a national letter of intent to play for the Oregon Ducks football team of the University of Oregon. Ngata tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on a punt coverage play in 2003 and missed the rest of that season. But over the next two seasons, Ngata became one of the best players in college football. Ngata totaled 107 tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss, and 6.5 sacks total in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He was a second-team All-Pac-10 selection in 2004, a first-team All-Pac-10 selection in 2005. Following his senior season in 2005, he was recognized as the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American, Oregon's first in 43 years. Ngata also earned praise as a dangerous special teams player, blocking 7 kicks during his 3 year career at Oregon.
He had a 495 lb (225 kg) bench press max, which ranks second all-time among Oregon Ducks football players, behind only Igor Olshansky's 505 lb (229 kg).
Read more about this topic: Haloti Ngata
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