Arizona State football's Daniyel Ngata flourishing as kick returner but is bothered by losses

Arizona State running back Daniyel Ngata has already experienced more losses this season than he did in his three varsity seasons at Folsom High School combined.

It doesn't matter that three of the four losses have come to nationally ranked teams. That is little consolation. Losing just doesn't sit well with him.

"I haven't had a losing season like this since little league," Ngata said, after practice earlier this week. "It's funny because, well it's not really funny, but every game I lost in little league, I think we went like 2-and-something. Hopefully not this year, pray to God — but every game we lost in little league, I was crying. I don't know why I was just thinking about that, but I just hate losing."

Arizona State makes its athletes readily available to the media and most have handled questions tactfully with the expected responses. They see progress. They're getting better. The team dynamic is still good.

But Ngata doesn't try to mask the disappointment he feels with what has transpired this season. The Sun Devils (1-4, 0-2) will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak when they host No. 21 Washington (4-1, 1-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium.

"I don't know, I'm just on a different aspect as everybody else, on a different mindset," Ngata said. "I just think about when I was little and it also goes back to the purpose of why I do this. It's sick just feeling like a loser. My parents also come to my games, like it's tough looking at them. They try to comfort me. I'm just mad and frustrated, that's what I am."

Ngata, a four-star prospect out of high school, played behind Rachaad White and DeaMonte Trayanum for two years but with both of those players having departed, was expected to have a bigger role in the ASU offense this season.

The Sun Devils added Wyoming transfer Xazavian Valladay to bolster the depleted backfield and it is he and Ngata that have been shouldering the load.

New offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas appreciates the competitive nature of his player.

“I appreciate that he's a competitor," Thomas said. "And X (Valladay) is kind of the same way. Both those guys in that room are competitors. They want to be out there. They want to contribute. They want to be a part of the success. So I appreciate that and respect that. And I think that's partly why those guys are so successful.”

Valladay has rushed for 455 yards with his 91 yards per game third in the Pac-12.

Ngata has a respectable 154 on 26 tries, for an average of 5.9 yards per carry.

Thomas admits it can be difficult to spread the workload around enough to satisfy his ball carriers but he's happy just to have quality weapons.

“It’s a good problem to have. That's one thing even coming from last season and the production he had last season and minimal carries or touches that we knew and hoped that that was going to be the case," Thomas said. "So it is a tricky equation to try to figure out, but he's engaged. He's definitely ready to take that challenge when presented, so it is a fine line and it's a good problem to have."

For subscribers: ASU vs. Washington football: Can Sun Devils get in win column?

While Ngata has only been getting half a dozen carries a game, he has found a niche in special teams, emerging as the team's primary kickoff return man. D.J.Taylor had been the main man there but when he got injured early in the Pac-12 opener against Utah Ngata assumed that role and has won it over, even though Taylor is healthy again.

Ngata has 226 yards on nine returns with a long of 58 yards coming against Utah.

"I like that a lot and I practice real hard at it. Catching the ball and then running. It's really a running backs dream to have all that space, finding where to go, finding the gaps. I think that's probably the most fun role. You can't beat it," he said.

Ngata sees his job as a return man as a way to set the tone and give his team some momentum.

"Good field position, can I give the offense the big play right there," he said of his mentality. "Say I have a bad kick return, I feel like my kick return is going to set the mood of the offense as well. That's just a job for me, kind of I can set the tempo for the offense."

Related: ASU's offensive line needs to limit sacks vs. Washington

The offense started showing signs of life last week in the first half of the 42-25 loss at USC. The Sun Devils only trailed the No. 6 team in the country by four points at the half.

Ngata is looking for more than just moral victories though.

"It felt like small steps," he said. "We wanted to take bigger ones though. I wanted to take bigger ones, Utah and USC, like everybody was not lying. There was games, the preparation, the weeks for games, you could feel it. I could feel it, like no point in lying. I felt it in the weeks of practice and it just felt right, you know? I felt like we prepared, we got that one percent better by going hard every day at practice, but we fell short those two weeks. In other aspects, we did level up, which is a positive. But we're not playing the game for positives and negatives. We're just trying to win."

Read more: Washington vs. Arizona State picks: Who wins Pac-12 game?

Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@gannett.com or 602 444-4783.  Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State running back Daniyel Ngata bothered by Sun Devils losses