Oregon legend Haloti Ngata named greatest No. 96 in history
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
When flipping through the pages of Oregon Ducks history, there are many players who will cause you to stop and think, "Man, that guy was something special." The football program in Eugene is steeped in tradition and success, and many players have not only been complete game-changers at the college level, but have also gone on to be incredibly special in the NFL as well.
One of the best to ever do it in Eugene was defensive lineman Haloti Ngata, who dominated on the interior defensive line for the Ducks early this century. He was a consensus All-American and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, and went on to have a Hall of Fame-worthy career in the NFL. To this day, Ngata is widely considered among the best to ever do it at Oregon.
And apparently, ESPN considers him the best to ever do it at his jersey number, as well.
On Thursday, ESPN released a fun project, naming the best player to ever wear each number in college history. For instance, Larry Fitzgerald is the best No. 1 ever, while Deion Sanders is the best to ever wear No. 2. Going down the list, ESPN claims that Ngata is the best player to ever wear No. 96.
"We debated No. 96 extensively before going with Ngata, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle who had 151 tackles as a Duck, including 24.5 tackles for loss," ESPN writes. "After earning second-team All-Pac-10 honors in 2004, Ngata became the first defensive lineman in 18 seasons to be named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his career with 10 sacks and three forced fumbles, and was ferocious on special teams with seven blocked kicks. The 6-foot-5, 338-pound Ngata led Pac-10 interior defensive linemen with 61 tackles in 2005, and was a finalist for both the Outland and Nagurski trophies. Named to the Pac-10's All-Century Team, he entered Oregon's athletics Hall of Fame in 2016."
Unfortunately, Ngata was the only Oregon player to make the cut, with QB Marcus Mariota getting beat out for the No. 8 jersey spot by Davey O'Brien, understandably so. O'Brien, who has one of the top QB awards in college football named after him, won a Heisman Trophy and national championship during his career from 1936-38.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon legend Haloti Ngata named greatest No. 96 in history
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos