Ngata opens up about ‘sad’ decision to leave Clemson, next-level aspirations
Joseph Ngata is moving on to the next chapter of his life, which he hopes means a stint in the NFL.
“Only God knows where I’ll go,” Ngata said. “Whatever happens happens. As long as I get an opportunity to show what I can do on a team, I’ll be fine with wherever I land.”
The decision to leave college behind this soon, though, wasn’t an easy one for the former Clemson receiver.
Ngata had already spent four seasons with the Tigers, though some of those were cut short because of injuries. The 6-foot-3, 223-pounder had an option to use his COVID year to return for a fifth year in the fall, and Ngata said there were “a lot of people” who wanted him to return to school.
He’s also grown fond of Clemson after making the cross-country move from Folsom, California, once he signed with Dabo Swinney’s program as a blue-chip recruit in 2019. That all weighed heavily on him following last season, but Ngata, who turned 22 in January, ultimately felt like it was time to say a difficult goodbye.
“Whenever I make a decision, I pray about it,” Ngata said. “Talk to my family about it. Talk to my friends about it. A lot of people wanted me to come back, but at the end of the day, I can’t take back what I did. Can’t take back anything. I’m just moving forward and looking forward. The best is yet to come. If I’m looking backward, it’s not really going to help me or benefit me.
“It was sad that I left. I felt sad when I was leaving, but I felt like it was the best thing for me to do. I did what I did, and I just went. Not looking back. I have faith in myself,, and that’s all I can do.”
Ngata said the hardest part about walking away from his time at Clemson is the bonds he’s formed both with people and a place. That realization, he said, hit him hard when he returned to campus for Clemson’s Pro Day earlier this week after training in Miami.
“All my friends stayed, and I just love it here,” he said. “I felt like when I came back, I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to do. I was in the bistro (Monday), and it was like, ‘All right this is what I’m supposed to be doing.’ It just felt like my way of life. Everything else just feels so foreign. Here feels like home.
“It’s sad leaving your friends, but business is business at the end of the day. I just have to take care of business.”
That means trying to work himself into a draft pick, something Ngata has taken every measure this offseason to try to accomplish. He participated in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January before playing in the East-West Shine Bowl in February. Then it was off to Indianapolis for the scouting combine earlier this month before he returned to his most familiar surroundings Tuesday for pro day.
Ngata stood primarily on his combine testing, including a 4.54 40-yard dash, but took part in a handful of events during pro day. He recorded the third-fastest agility time (4.35 seconds) and also participated in position drills with personnel from all 32 NFL teams looking on in Clemson’s indoor practice facility.
“I just wanted to be smooth. Wanted to be crisp,” Ngata said. “It sounds bad that I didn’t have any goals set for (Tuesday), but I just wanted to show them that I could do what I do.”
Ngata got through the day from start to finish, something that wasn’t always the case during his collegiate career. An abdominal injury limited him to seven games in 2020. During Ngata’s junior year the following season, COVID-19 protocol and a late-season foot injury cost him four more games.
Ngata got through his final season with the Tigers with a clean bill of health and posted career-highs in catches (41) and receiving yards (526) while hauling in two touchdown receptions in 14 starts. Still, Ngata decided to go heavy on the pre-draft showcase circuit this year in order to give teams a better idea of his skill set since his game tape is somewhat limited.
“I was ready to just ball,” he said. “I wanted NFL scouts to see up close and in person and to go up against the best competition. … I was being physical and fast. I wanted them to see everything up close.”
Ngata said he hopes he’s squashed any lingering concerns they might have regarding his health in the process.
“It’s a lot of teams that ask me about injuries, but I cleared everything out through MRIs,” he said. “My body is full go. 100%. … Whatever they wanted to see, I was willing to do. And I did it. I came out fine.
“I look good. I feel great. I’m ready to keep going and keep working on my body.”
Ngata, who singled out the New York Jets as a team that’s shown him a good deal of interest during the pre-draft process, will return to California to continue training, he said. Once the three-day draft ends April 29, Ngata is hopeful an NFL city is the next destination along his journey – with the occasional detour back to Clemson.
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