Unique family connection for 2020 DL Jamar Sekona

SAN ANTONIO - Jamar Sekona is the nephew of former five-star and longtime NFL defensive lineman Haloti Ngata so there’s one school that has definitely piqued his interest early on.

“I’ve loved Oregon since I was a kid,” Sekona said recently at the Army National Combine. That's where Ngata played.

The Ducks, UCLA and USC are the standout schools so far for the 2020 defensive lineman from Kentfield (Calif.) Marin Catholic.

Oregon State was Sekona’s first offer and he has a lot of respect for that program especially since the former coaching staff did not hesitate in offering him.

“I went to the (Sacramento) State camp, which they went to, and they already offered our QB, Spencer Petras, and I told them which school I went to and we started from there,” Sekona said. “They already knew my background from the school I come from.

“I was talking with them in the summer mostly and then when school started I didn’t talk to them as much but I kept in contact through Twitter.

“One day, I sent my film to them and I was talking to the recruiting coordinator for a while and then I called up coach (Beau) Baldwin and I talked to him. I told him I’d love to visit and get a feel for it and he said they’d be willing to give me a verbal offer right there. I said that was great to hear.”

The Oregon State coaches were already highly familiar with Kentfield Marin Catholic since Petras, a four-star quarterback, was committed to the Beavers. He flipped late to Iowa but Sekona still has interest in the Pac-12 school.

As for early favorites, Sekona said he would prefer to stay in California with Cal, UCLA and USC standing out most. Of course, Oregon would be a big offer.

The 2020 defensive lineman said UCLA, Cal, Washington, Oregon, USC and Arizona have been showing new interest.