By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

Haloti Ngata has been through enough heartbreak in the past few years to last him a lifetime.

Soon after arriving on the University of Oregon campus, Ngata lost his father, Solomone, in a truck-driving accident. That left his mother to raise he and his four brothers in Salt Lake City.

Then, in January, his mother Olga died after a long struggle with diabetes and kidney failure. After taking his opportunity to grieve, Ngata has decided to use his grief to help make him a better football player.

“It's been tough,” Ngata said. “I just use it as motivation. My dad and my mom are finally going to see me play together.”

What Ngata’s parents will see is the final product of a player that has been quickly developing into one of the nation’s most dominant defensive players.  Growing up, Ngata looked up to his uncle Haloti Moala, a linebacker at Utah.

It didn’t take long for Ngata to realize that he too wanted to play football. It took even less time for Ngata to realize that his giant frame wouldn’t allow him to play linebacker.

Coming out of Highland High, Ngata was one of the top ranked players in the nation. He decided to stay fairly close to home, choosing Oregon as his collegiate destination.

Ngata didn’t disappoint in his first season, playing in 12 of 13 games and proving difficult for offensive linemen to move in the running game. That was the year he lost his father. Everyone, Ngata included, thought his sophomore year would be his chance to break out.

Instead, he suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the first game against Mississippi State.

“It was tough to take that setback,” Ngata said. “But it drove me to come back even stronger.”

So, after extensive training and rehabilitation, Ngata came back as a redshirt sophomore in 2004. Despite not being quite at full strength, Ngata got by on pure desire, racking up 46 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Finally, last season, Ngata had the breakthrough everyone had been anticipating. He became the first Duck in 43 years to become a consensus All American. He had 61 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three sacks. He even blocked a pair of kicks.

Ngata was the type of unblockable mountain everyone thought he would be, often drawing all of the offensive line’s attention.

“I got double teamed a lot at Oregon, so I am used to it,” Ngata said. “It’s something I have always done.”

With his mother fighting diabetes and kidney problems, Ngata decided to declare for this year’s NFL Draft at the conclusion of the season.

The thought of a multi-million dollar NFL contract and the chance to support his mother’s medical problems were too much to pass up. Ngata promptly made himself eligible for the draft and took off to Arizona to begin training for the combine and his workouts.

But, no more than two weeks after heading to Arizona to begin that training, Olga passed away due to complications from kidney failure. After coming to terms with the loss of another parent, Ngata turned his focus back to doing the things he needs to do to be a dominant NFL player.

At 6’4, 338 pounds, Ngata is a mountain of a man with surprising athletic ability for someone of his size. He has run the 40-yard dash in under five seconds and has posted ridiculous numbers in weight lifting sessions (he has reportedly bench pressed upwards of 500 pounds).

Ngata knows that his talent lies in that ability to forcefully move the pile and stop opposing running backs.

“Basically, I'm a run stopper,” Ngata said. “I'm working a lot on rushing the passer, but I think I'm known as a run stopper. That's what I do.”

Because of that ability, Ngata is viewed as one of the top two defensive tackles in this year’s draft and the premiere run stopper entered. Still, while Ngata might be the most physically imposing prospect in the draft, he is far from a finished product.

Some scouts consider Ngata to be a bit raw with a tendency to put forth inconsistent effort. In addition, his pass rush skills are limited and he might only be a first and second down player at this point.

“I’m not bad at pass rushing,” Ngata said. “I think I am good at rushing the passer. I am quick, I just need to work on balancing the way I rush the passer because I sometimes miss tackles. I want to be more balanced.”

In spite of any of those perceived weaknesses, there is a good chance that Ngata will come off the board in the first 10 picks and be the first defensive tackle chosen. One prominent mock draft has Green Bay selecting Ngata with the fifth choice overall.

And Ngata has made no bones about what that would mean to him.

“I'm excited and overwhelmed that people think I may be the first (defensive tackle) gone,” Ngata said. “That's a lot of pressure, and I know I'll have to work really hard to meet those expectations.”

The expectations that Ngata places on himself might be difficult for anyone to achieve. At the end of the day, though, at least Ngata knows his parents are somewhere in heaven, proud of him no matter where he goes in the draft.

No matter what happens on draft day, at least there will be no more heartbreak for Haloti Ngata. Lord knows, he’s been through enough.