‘Looking for spot’ down on the Farm - Marin Independent Journal

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‘Looking for spot’ down on the Farm

Former Marin Catholic standout Prongos chasing his NFL dream at Stanford

UCLA’s Niki Prongos (66) and Garrett DiGiorgio (72) pick up Ethan Garbers (4) after he was sacked during the second half of a game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Rose Bowl on Oct. 12, in Pasadena. SEAN M. HAFFEY — GETTY IMAGES

Jack Greenwood of Marin Catholic defends Branson’s Niki Prongos after Prongos grabbed a rebound during their MCAL final at Redwood High in Larkspur in February of 2020. SHERRY LAVARS — MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

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By Danny Schmidt

Special to the Independent-Journal

Getting the attention of NFL scouts is never easy. But for Niki Prongos, his untraditional route did him no favors.

Prongos transferred in 2021 from The Branson School to Marin Catholic High for his senior year, joining the football team after having only played baseball and basketball at the prep level. He spent the offseason at various regional camps, hoping to garner attention from colleges, and started the season strong for the eventual state-champion Wildcats. However, in Marin Catholic’s fourth game, Prongos suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

The injury was not enough to stop Prongos, however, as the towering senior earned a walk-on roster spot at UCLA. That turned into a scholarship at the beginning of the 2024 season, and after some coaching changes this offseason, Prongos made his way into the transfer portal and came out a Stanford Cardinal.

“The portal can be stressful at times, but it’s definitely a good feeling when schools reach out to you, especially for me because I used to be a walk-on,” Prongos said last week. “Out of high school, I was just trying to find a spot somewhere.

“I felt like I could really continue my development here (at Stanford). It’s also nice to be so close to home and be able to drive home some weekends. But I love the coaching staff here. I’m a believer in the future of the program.”

Prongos, a 6-foot-7, 300-plus-pound offensive tackle and guard, has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He doesn’t mince words when discussing what his goals are for life beyond Stanford.“I want to play in the NFL,” he said. “That’s what I’m striving for.”

Marin Catholic football coach Mazi Moayed said he immediately saw “next-level” potential in Prongos when he transferred.

“He’s got the ability to play on Sundays,” Moayed said. “He’s got that type of ceiling. He’s got everything it takes, now everything just needs to come together for him.

“He wasn’t a big, clumsy guy; he was always an athlete. You see him run around at that size and your jaw drops. And he’s highly intelligent and a super high-character guy. He’s what you’d call a unicorn.”

Falling in love with football >> Prongos played basketball and baseball for Branson his first three years of high school, and soccer leading up to that point.

It was after returning from a trip to Lithuania — to a school that hosts families of refugees — during the pandemic that Prongos decided he’d transfer to Marin Catholic and try out for the football team.

He said he fell in love with the game — playing tight end and defensive end for the Wildcats — though it took some time to learn.

Even as a freshman at UCLA, on the first day of practice, Prongos recalls the Bruins going over the playbook and his bewilderment as they discussed inside zone plays.

“That’s obviously very common, but at the time, I had no idea what inside zone was,” Prongos said with a laugh. “I thought they were speaking another language. It was a huge learning process. I just sat in the back and tried to listen and learn as much as possible.”

‘Amazing athletes’ >> Prongos, whose parents still live in Novato, is the middle of three brothers.

“All of his brothers are amazing athletes and individuals,” Moayed said.

His oldest brother, Lukas, played on several talented Branson basketball teams and is now a senior on UC Davis’ squad. Alexander, the youngest, also went to Branson and played men’s volleyball for UC Santa Cruz before heading to Notre Dame.

Prongos said the competitiveness between his brothers helped fuel his athletic career.

“My mom was always trying to get me on my older brother’s teams growing up,” Prongos said. “So it helped me to play up, and seeing him succeed, I wanted to be better than him. Plus there was a lot of wrestling growing up.”

Looking ahead >> Now, Prongos is about a week into life at Stanford, where he’s pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. His goals in preparation for the season are to “get stronger, get faster, get bigger.” He said he’s excited to help improve a Cardinal team that went 3-9 this past season and 2-6 in ACC play — a program that recently hired former star quarterback Andrew Luck to serve as general manager.

Moayed said he knows Prongos has what it takes to contribute to the turnaround, and eventually move from the Farm to the NFL.

“I couldn’t be happier for him and his family. What a great opportunity. And what a great program to be part of,” Moayed said. “He was a lot of fun to watch and a lot of fun to coach. He’s absolutely amazing, and anyone that would come across him — to work with him or coach him — would agree. You wish you could coach 100 Niki Prongos.”