Elite California RB wants to "look at everything" on Clemson visit

Daniyel Ngata (left) walks the sidelines before the Louisville game last year with his brother Joseph

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Mar 21 08:16:12 GMT-04:00 2019

One of the top running backs out of the state of California will be on Clemson’s campus for the Tigers’ spring game early next month, and he wants to mix a little business with pleasure.

Four-star 2020 running back Daniyel Ngata of Folsom (CA) received a Clemson offer last week during a Sunday conversation with co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott. Elliott asked Ngata if he would like the chance to play with his brother, mid-year Clemson wide receiver enrollee Joseph Ngata.

“It was really good to get that offer. I’ve been in contact with Coach Elliott and Clemson for a minute,” Ngata told TigerNet. “I had been waiting on that offer but I was still surprised when he told me. He asked me, ‘How would you like the opportunity to play with Joseph?'"

Ngata is no stranger to the Clemson campus but he plans to take a deeper look this time around.

“I am looking at everything,” he said. “I want to see the running backs and how they use them, and I want to talk to the players and ask them a few questions. I also want to spend more time with the coaches.”

Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Washington, South Carolina, Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Penn State are among the other schools that have offered. However, Clemson will mark his first visit of the spring.

What will his perfect school look like?

“They have a good football team, a winning football team, and the school needs to have what I want to major in. I also have to like the location,” Ngata said. “I am not basing my decision on my brother or anything like that. When I make my decision or think about my decision it's like he isn't even there.”

Ngata says his brother speaks highly of his brief time on campus.

“He likes it a lot. He thinks the staff is great and he loves how they are all into it,” Ngata said. “All of the staff are into football and he says they make you a better person on and off the field. He likes that a lot. He says that is making him a better person as well.

“When I've been there and visited with Joe, it feels like a friendly, family-like atmosphere and stuff. I really like that a lot. I also like the coaches.”

Elliott sees Ngata as an all-purpose back.

“He thinks I am a really good back that can run routes out of the backfield. He says I am a four-down back,” he said.

As for a commitment, Ngata says he wants to wait until after his senior season.

“I am pushing it back until the end of the season. I want to take a better look at all of the schools,” he said. “When I first looked at my recruiting I thought it would begin to slow down and I could commit and then play the whole season as a committed player my senior year in high school.

“But more schools are starting to talk to me and make offers and I really want to make sure I look at everything and make the right decision.”