Here's Another Ngata Trying to Make His Mark on UW Football

The running back follows in the footsteps of his linebacker brother.

Daniyel Ngata was the first of 100-plus players to walk out on the football field recently for a University of Washington spring practice, greeted at 8 a.m. by the strains of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" echoing through Husky Stadium.

The music selection seemed apropos for the compact 5-foot-9, 187-pound Ngata, who transferred out of Arizona State after his high hopes for that football program dissolved into a midseason coaching firing, a lost 3-9 season and a total rebuild.

Ngata is one of 16 Husky newcomers taking part in spring ball yet the only one with a family member who preceded him as a UW football player and ended up leaving the program, which has made for interesting conversation.

"We talked about it," Daniyel Ngata said. "It's very funny, his situation and me coming right in. Everybody's got a different situation for sure. He just wished me the best of luck. He loved this school. He had nothing against this school."

Ariel Ngata was that older sibling and a highly regarded linebacker for the Huskies in 2017-19. He redshirted his first season and then appeared in 25 games as a reserve for coach Chris Petersen, playing both inside and outside backer. 

He was a slender 6-foot-3, 213-pounder who was given plenty of opportunity to succeed but couldn't retain enough weight to make more of an impact and dislodge a starter. 

The older Ngata became the first player to exit the program once Jimmy Lake was installed as the UW head coach and he finished his college football career just this past season for Sacramento State, as a focal player for a 12-1 Big Sky team. 

Daniyel Ngata, whose other brother Joseph was a Clemson wide receiver (2019-22), was recruited by the Huskies back then but he felt more comfortable with the Sun Devils and Herm Edwards.

Daniyel Ngata picks up some tough yards against the UW and Dom Hampton last season. Now he plays for the Huskies :: Patrick Breen/USA TODAY Sports

Interestingly last season, Ngata scored a third-quarter touchdown on a 1-yard run to give Arizona State a 38-24 lead over the UW and what proved to be deciding points in the Sun Devils' 45-38 upset victory in Tempe. In essence, he was one of those directly responsible for the Huskies' last loss.

He's now smack in the middle of the UW competition for the starting running back job, bringing something a little different to a spirited group that consists of a host of veteran players in Cam Davis, Dillon Johnson (Mississippi State), Will Nixon (Nebraska), Richard Newton, Sam Adams and Aaron Dumas (New Mexico), and a touted freshman in Tybo Rogers.  

"Daniyel is a little more of a speed guy," UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. "If he gets out in the open, he can hurt a defense, maybe go the distance, be a little bit of that home-run threat."

At Arizona State, Ngata battled the likes of the highly productive Rachaad White and Xazavian Valladay for playing time. Now its most likely Davis and Johnson who will be his chief competitors, though the latter got hurt shortly after pulling on pads and hasn't got back. 

A hard-nosed runner, Ngata dealt with his own assorted hamstring, shoulder and thumb injuries while in the desert. Even at the UW, he's been held out of a few recent practices with some sort of leg issue in a cautionary move. 

Yet he's eager to give the program a highly productive player, if not a second Ngata who finishes what the other started in this town.

"I'm just working on my body," Daniyel Ngata said, "so when the time comes I just feel great, healthy, explosive and 100 percent out there."

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