In highschool, Niki Prongos would hear the play name and surprise what it meant.
When he obtained to UCLA, the offensive lineman went over the playbook and heard teammates speaking about inside zone, a preferred run play used at each stage of soccer.
“I was like, what the heck is inside zone?” Prongos recalled with fun.
Greater than two years after he entered faculty not figuring out a lot about soccer, Prongos has mastered greater than ideas. The redshirt sophomore who has participated in solely 9 video games since he began taking part in the game has grow to be a maestro of would possibly.
(Isabella Serafini / UCLA Athletics)
Having packed 60 kilos onto what’s now a 6-foot-7, 305-pound body, he’s smashed edge rushers, conquered doubters, obliterated expectations. Shifting round early this season due to accidents to veteran teammates — to not point out their struggles to execute a brand new offense — he began one recreation at proper sort out, two video games at proper guard and one recreation at left sort out. You by no means know the place he would possibly find yourself subsequent.
“If they need me to play quarterback,” he cracked, “I’m there.”
Realizing that he wanted to reward the prepared walk-on who was additionally amongst his greatest offensive linemen, coach DeShaun Foster referred to as Prongos in entrance of the group late final month. Prongos momentarily puzzled whether or not he was in hassle.
After wanting him within the eye as Prongos waited, restlessly tucking his T-shirt into his shorts, Foster prolonged his hand.
“You’ve got a scholarship,” Foster stated to cheers from the opposite gamers who leaped from their seats, mobbing Prongos in a celebration paying homage to when Foster was launched in the identical auditorium seven months earlier.
It was the type of second that Prongos all the time believed would come regardless that he performed solely three video games in highschool due to a torn knee ligament. Considering his strengths, Prongos knew he might compete on the faculty stage if he realized the nuances of the game.
Instantly impressing offensive line coach Juan Castillo with dimension and pace that have been enhanced by a relentless work ethic and pure intelligence, Prongos began the season opener and established himself as a mainstay, taking part in the third-most snaps of any offensive lineman on the group this season.
“The first thing I noticed about him was he was athletic, so after that you don’t think about walk-on or this-on or whatever, you know?” stated Castillo, who spent 28 years teaching within the NFL earlier than coming to Westwood. “It’s no different than when I was in the NFL — college free agent or draft pick, it doesn’t matter. If you have God-given ability, it’s whether you develop the ability.”
“It was kind of funny because I’m also half Greek,” stated Niki, an outsized outfielder and first baseman, “so my dad was there — my mom’s Lithuanian and my dad’s Greek — and so my dad was in a weird [spot]. But it was a cool experience for sure, because who ever knew there was baseball in Eastern Europe?”
Prongos absorbed the language and tradition of Lithuania whereas spending a yr of highschool within the nation to assist his grandparents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Transferring into Marin Catholic Excessive for his senior yr, he wished to strive soccer as a result of he knew some gamers on the group. Coach Mazi Moayed requested him to run across the area to evaluate whether or not he had the required athleticism to go along with his dimension.
“At that point it was like, ‘Hey, you’ve got a future ahead of you, buddy,’ ” Moayed stated. “There’s not a lot of 6-7 guys running around like you here.”
The teaching employees put Prongos at tight finish and defensive finish whereas additionally coaching him at offensive sort out in anticipation of his taking part in the place in faculty. In his first three video games, Prongos caught two passes and made 14 tackles whereas displaying exponential enchancment.
UCLA offensive lineman Niki Prongos (66) blocks an LSU defensive lineman whereas quarterback Ethan Garbers appears to be like to cross the ball on Sept. 1, 2024, in Las Vegas.
(Ross Turteltaub / UCLA Athletics)
“Our eyes were popping out, our jaws were dropping,” Moayed stated, “and we were just going, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
However a torn anterior cruciate ligament in Prongos’ third recreation ended his highschool profession and scared off many recruiters who had been intrigued by his potential. Nobody supplied a scholarship. UCLA, Washington, Sacramento State and UC Davis supplied spots as a walk-on, lastly acquiescing to Moayed’s passionate pitch.
“My point to everyone was, ‘Look, you lose nothing by taking this guy on your team,’ ” Moayed stated, “ ‘and I promise you he’ll be a scholarship guy for you within a few years and if he works out for you, you’ve got a potential NFL guy because of his frame and his athleticism.’ ”
Ethan Younger, then the Bruins’ director of participant personnel, organized for Prongos to fulfill the teaching employees and go to campus, resulting in a dedication. Prongos didn’t play his first season and appeared in only one recreation as a redshirt freshman whereas studying terminology and approach.
A textual content that Moayed obtained from Ryan Gunderson, then UCLA’s quarterbacks coach, teased the probabilities.
“Hey, your guy just ran over 20 miles an hour in the catapult vest,” Gunderson wrote, referring to gear that tracks efficiency. “If he works out as a tackle, he’ll be a first-round pick in the NFL.”
Earlier than he added all these kilos, Prongos wowed in exercises by generally working step for step with linebackers, tight ends, vast receivers and working backs.
“I would always want to push myself to race the smaller guys just to see if I could hang,” Prongos stated.
Did he beat any?
“Maybe when I was 250, 260 [pounds,] but not anymore,” he stated. “But I’m just one step behind, you know?”
Nobody has confirmed extra versatile on an offensive line that put collectively its greatest recreation of the season final weekend in opposition to Penn State, giving quarterback Justyn Martin the time he wanted to finish 9 of his first 11 passes in his first faculty begin. Prongos attributed the success to raised communication and cohesion with Sam Yoon making his first begin at heart and Josh Carlin shifting to proper guard.
Versatile UCLA offensive lineman Niki Prongos (66) traces as much as block Penn State defensive lineman on Saturday, Oct. 5, in Comfortable Valley, Pa.
(Nathan Donlevy / UCLA Athletics)
The Bruins (1-4 general, 0-3 Huge Ten) will seemingly hold that very same alignment Saturday on the Rose Bowl in opposition to Minnesota (3-3, 1-2) even when quarterback Ethan Garbers returns from the correct foot damage that sidelined him final weekend.
For Prongos, will probably be a milestone — his tenth recreation mixed at the highschool and faculty ranges, with many extra attainable on Saturdays and Sundays. Castillo instructed him that he can’t cease working now that he’s on scholarship.
“I think he needs to gain another 10 pounds and continue to get better,” Castillo stated, “but he has the ability to be — sheesh — a top-three-round guy, you know?”
The one factor left for Prongos to surprise is how far he would possibly go.
