His dad was always there.
Los Angeles. Pullman, Wash. Tucson, Ariz. Wherever Haloti Ngata played, his father was in the stands — with smiles and hugs for people he'd never met.
"He's one of my biggest fans and I've always just wanted to make him proud," Ngata said.
Solomone Ngata watched his son play 12 games for the University of Oregon football team in 2002. After the regular season ended, he spent an early December weekend on campus in Eugene, Ore. He then returned to Utah and his job as a truck driver.
Solomone was killed in a rollover accident just days later.
His son blamed God. Ngata retreated from family, friends and church, concerning himself only with football, which he thought would never hurt him. His reward was a wrecked knee and a year on the sidelines.
Haloti Ngata now knows he was being tested — and that he failed.
But he came back stronger.
The young man who nearly quit football, who lost both parents way too early and who was shaken by a crisis of faith steadied himself to become what he is today — a professional football star, a family man and a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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A nose tackle's job at the center of the defensive line is to "eat up space."
And Ngata eats well.
The 26-year-old Mormon from Salt Lake City is a massive force at the highest level of football; the first point of attack on a Baltimore Ravens team fueled by star power and a formidable defense.
When the wide-bodied Ngata fires off the front line, he opens up holes for the flashy NFL superstars behind him to make plays — guys like Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed.
It's a prospect that thrilled him when he was the 12th player selected in the 2006 NFL Draft.
"It's always been a dream of mine — and it came true when I got drafted to Baltimore — to be a part of a … dominant defensive team," Ngata said.
He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2009, and many NFL observers thought he deserved the honor the year before. It was gratifying to have his abilities — a disruptive combination of size, power and quickness — recognized by fans and peers.
"Hopefully I can continue to be an elite player as long as I'm in the NFL," he said.
While he's not as famous as some of the other Ravens — Lewis is a former Super Bowl MVP, while teammate Michael Oher's life story was recently made into the movie "The Blind Side" — Ngata still got quite the reaction when, as activities committee chairman, he called a bowling alley to reserve a lane for a ward activity.
"They must think I'm a celebrity or something," a family friend remembers him saying.
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All that football success, however, followed some tough times.
"For (my father) to pass away and not be at my games anymore was really tough," Ngata said.
Solomone Ngata was "immensely popular," according to family friend Kent Hansen. The father of the 6-foot-4, 345-pound Haloti was known as a "gentle giant." "Sam," as he was called, used to wear a T-shirt that read "I'm big but you're ugly."
He was always smiling. When Solomone first met people, he'd pick them up and hug them instead of shaking their hand. A story in the Baltimore Sun said "his hugs alone could give you a sore back for the rest of the day."
"He had more love than anyone else I'd ever met," Hansen said.
Hansen and his wife, Ludene, came to know the Ngatas like family. They hosted Haloti's parents when they visited Eugene during the recruiting process. After Haloti signed with Oregon, the Ngatas would stay at the Hansens' home on game weekends.
"It was just so fun being close to their family," Ludene Hansen said.
During Solomone's last visit in December 2002, the Hansens told him about a funeral they had just attended for a neighbor who died in his 40s. Solomone, who was 45, "got this strange look on his face," Ludene Hansen said.
After having a meal together, Solomone bid farewell with a hug and turned to leave, but came back. He hugged the Hansens one more time and said he loved them.
A few days later on Dec. 11, Solomone was driving a truck for his employer, Metro Waste, when he lost control on a ramp connecting I-215 south and eastbound I-80. The truck rolled several times and landed upside down in a canal, where Solomone drowned.
"It was just shocking, just awful," Ludene Hansen said.
The burial took place on a snowy day near the Bountiful Temple. According to the Hansens, those in attendance included Nike founder Phil Knight and the prince of Tonga, Solomone's native country. Fellow truck drivers circled in their rigs and blew their diesel horns in unison. On the bumper of each truck was the name "Sam" underneath a halo.
"He was loved by so many people," Kent Hansen said.
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Haloti Ngata took the loss of his biggest fan hard.
"I actually kind of blamed God a little bit, wondering kind of why he would do this to me," he said. "I was being a little selfish.
"Actually, I was being really selfish."
Ngata says he distanced himself from family and friends, thinking he could get by on his own. He also attended church less often.
"I kind of felt like football was just going to be my getaway," he said. "Football's always just going to be there for me. It's never going to do anything to hurt me."
But football did hurt him. During the 2003 season-opener in Starkville, Miss., Ngata tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
"That's when God humbled me," he said.
Ngata had a lot of time to think after the injury. He says part of him wanted to quit school and return home to help his mother, but he ultimately felt better about staying at Oregon.
"It wasn't always smooth sailing for him," said Kent Hansen, who was also the bishop of Ngata's LDS young single adult ward. "I think in some ways that was a come-of-age thing for him. … That was a tough year for him."
Ngata says he learned to lean on family, friends, his bishopric and church members. His girlfriend, Christina, whom he eventually married in June 2007, also provided support.
"It was just God testing me, and I failed, definitely. But I definitely got back in the church … ," he said. "It made me feel better, and things started to turn around a little for me.
"Looking back, I'm just happy that I was able to fail and able to kind of fall a little bit to be able to come back and be stronger."
The Hansens remember Ngata as a solid member of their YSA ward. He once spoke at an institute-sponsored open house on campus about Mormonism. He invited teammates to a ward ice-blocking activity.
One Sunday, Ludene Hansen noticed that Ngata wasn't in sacrament meeting. She left the chapel and called him on his cell phone just as he showed up with his four roommates — one inactive member and three who weren't LDS.
"He was exemplary, and still is," Kent Hansen said.
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Ngata returned to football in a big way, earning conference co-defensive player of the year honors for 2005.
During that time, he also "stepped up" for his family, Kent Hansen said. Ngata's two older brothers were involved in gangs and had been in prison, so he tried to be a good example to his younger brother and sister.
He also tried to support his mother, Olga, in whatever way he could.
"I just wanted to show my mom that it was going to be OK," he said. "I tried to do little stuff just to help out my mom a little bit and just try to be strong for the family."
With a career in professional football on the horizon, Ngata told the Portland Tribune in July 2005 that he wanted to play in the NFL "to make my mom and family proud."
He also told the newspaper: "I couldn't handle losing both parents. It would be a different world."
Cruelly, though, Ngata did lose his mother less than one year later. Olga Ngata, who had a difficult time dealing with her husband's death and didn't take care of herself properly, died of a heart attack on Jan. 13, 2006, at the age of 44. She suffered from diabetes and kidney disease.
In April, the Ravens made Ngata a first-round NFL draft pick. Upon hearing the news, he remembered his parents and wept, according to an article in Sports Illustrated.
"They were all I could think about when I heard my name called," he said.
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As a Pro Bowl nose tackle, not much gets by Ngata.
Especially not a recognition of gospel blessings.
"This church has guided me in ways that have helped me mold myself into the man I am," he said. "It's helped me stay away from the nonsense … It's definitely kept my body and mind and spirit healthy.
"I can't say enough about this church and how much it's given to me."
Ngata counts himself fortunate to play on a team with four other Latter-day Saints — Todd Heap, Paul Kruger, David Hale and John Beck. Baltimore added another Mormon, former Cougar tight end Dennis Pitta, in the 2010 draft.
"It's just been awesome and great that I'm able to have four other guys on our team that are members of the church and being able to kind of lean on each other when we're out there in practice or games," Ngata said.
Kent Hansen remembers Ngata telling him after one season that he was healthy enough to keep going, despite playing a brutal position.
"I suppose part of that is just good living and taking care of himself and going home to a wonderful family," Hansen said.
As a pro athlete, Ngata makes public appearances and enjoys interaction with fans, but doesn't go out to clubs with teammates and "doesn't put himself out there much."
He simply works hard to be the best at his profession.
"When I'm done with that, I definitely just want to stay home and spend time with family and kind of get closer to God," he said.
He and Christina, who is the great-granddaughter of former church president David O. McKay, have one son who, like Solomone, is called "Sam."
"I'm kind of a homebody kind of guy," Ngata said. "I like to stay home and spend time with my family."
e-mail: ashill@desnews.com