Joseph Ngata: Offensive Player of the Year

Folsom Junior Wide Receiver Is The Kind Of Prototype Playmaker That Makes Scouts Salivate •

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Joseph Ngata isn’t wasting any time.

Fresh off a 16-0 state championship season, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Folsom High School receiver was begging to get back in the gym and start the preparation for next season as soon as 2018 began.

“I’ve been back in the gym and back on the field for a little while now. It’s just a matter of time before I am more explosive and even stronger,” Ngata said. “I just take it day by day and stay humble.”

Ngata — the next big-time prospect coming out of Folsom following Jake Browning, Jonah Williams, Jordan Richards and Dano Graves — put together a phenomenal junior season in 2017.

He racked up 81 receptions for 1,777 yards and 26 touchdowns. Adding 150 rushing yards, a score and 188 kick return yards en route to earning SportStars Offensive Player of the Year honors.

“Joe was a massive part of our offense — especially once the season got rolling and we saw how much Joe had developed, even from last year — we knew we had to manufacture as many touches to Joe as possible,” Folsom coach Kris Richardson said. “That’s where the reverses, and actually handing the ball off to him on jet sweeps and moving him around in the offense to be sure we’re maximizing his touches. Which makes defenses adjust to him and that opened up the rest of the offense.”

One such reverse came against league rival Granite Bay on Sept. 29. Despite only leading by a touchdown at halftime. Ngata blew the game wide open with a sweeping 80-yard touchdown — juking and dodging defenders up and down the field.

That was classic Ngata. His big-play ability showed up most when the competition was the toughest.

After recording a touchdown catch in eight straight regular-season games. Ngata exploded for 679 yards and 11 scores in the playoffs.

In the Sac-Joaquin Section championship game, he had four touchdown catches in the first half against St. Mary’s-Stockton. He finished with 213 yards on eight receptions as his team claimed a 50-21 victory.

Two weeks later, Ngata helped the Bulldogs bring home state championship hardware with a hard-fought 49-42 win over Helix-La Mesa.

“Winning those championships didn’t come as a surprise to us,” Ngata confessed. “That’s what we expected to do.”

Collegiate offers came rushing in. The stellar 2017 season helped Ngata gain the attention of national powers Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Florida State, USC, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Utah, Washington, Cal, UCLA and Oregon State, among others.

“He’s got huge next-level potential,” Richardson said. “USC, Clemson, Florida, Utah, Oregon, every Pac-12 school, and notable national teams — and I said it early in the year, I thought Joe was the best receiver in the state of California, if not the western United States, as a junior.”

The longtime Bulldogs coach noted Ngata’s ability to play the ball in the air, use his size, and his speed, to create separation from defenders and block in the run game.

His ceiling has scouts drooling with anticipation, and many booked trips from the East Coast routinely to see him compete.

“I actually had some recruiting coaches come through, and Clemson was talking about him — how most guys are either fast, or big. But Joe is a big, fast guy,” Richardson said. “That’s rare. To be a 6-foot-4, 210-pound receiver and even though it doesn’t look like he’s moving that fast. But, he’s pulling away from everybody.”

Ngata’s 1,777 receiving yards are the most for a Folsom receiver since 2011 when J’Juan Muldrow had 1,895 in 14 games. Furthermore, his 81 receptions are tied for sixth in the program’s last decade.

Now he can add to his trophy case with another postseason award. With Ngata already training for next season, Folsom fans are wondering how many records will remain standing when his career is complete.

“That’s the great thing about Joe — he’s not going to be satisfied with where he was at, or where we were as a team,” Richardson said. “He’s driven to be better than where we were in 2017. And with all those guys coming back, there’s no reason we can’t be (better).”

That’s scary news for opposing defenses.

Story By STEVEN WILSON | Photos By JAMES K. LEASH