When Vega Ioane made his pre-draft visit to the Ravens, he spent time with General Manager Eric DeCosta in his office.
During their conversation, DeCosta realized that the young guard from Penn State carried himself like a former Raven who is now in the team's Ring of Honor.
"He reminds me a little bit of one of my favorite Ravens of all time: Haloti Ngata," DeCosta said. "Just the way that he was with me in the office, and we were talking and laughing and his maturity; the way that he – even though he's a younger person – even the way that he carried himself with a quiet confidence stood out."
The Ravens selected Ngata in the first round in 2006 (12th overall), and that decision paid huge dividends. He was a five-time Pro Bowler who helped Baltimore win a Super Bowl, a dominant presence on the field who was universally respected in the locker room.
Baltimore has high expectations for Ioane as well, and the similarities between him and Ngata extend beyond their demeanors.
A native of American Samoa, Ioane is the youngest of nine siblings, and his five older brothers and their father all loved rugby. It was the family's preferred sport as Ioane grew up in Graham, Wash., and he didn't begin playing football until high school.
Ngata was also an accomplished rugby player growing up, and that's where he first put his superb athleticism for a man his size on display.
Ioane also believes in dominating his opponent at the line of scrimmage, just as Ngata did. The Ravens want to be more physically imposing on both sides of the ball and believe Ioane will help them accomplish that.
He never got to play with Ngata, but if Ioane brings the same type of presence, he'll be another first-round pick who will leave his own mark on the franchise.
"The guy that we got, I think, as a first pick, is the epitome of what we want the team to be like: a line of scrimmage dominant team," Head Coach Jesse Minter said. "Really physical, really great player, really great person, and I really enjoyed getting to know him a little bit on the visit. He's everything that we want our guys to be."
