Former Andover and Hutch CC player highlights football journey

July 31, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – From the Little League Andover Cyclones to walking on at the University of Arkansas, long-snapper Ashton Ngo went from playing both sides of the ball at Andover to honing in on one specialty in college.

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Ngo was a phenom in high school, playing linebacker, quarterback, running back and long-snapper. He was an all-state linebacker his senior year at Andover High School in 2020 and honorable mention his junior and sophomore years.

He eventually ended up at Hutchinson Community College, where Ngo realized he had to adjust to a new role. In April, he finished up minicamp with the Washington Commanders, pursuing his dream further.

“It was kind of an odd transition for me,” Ngo said. “About my freshman year of college, when I started to lock into long snapping, realizing it was probably going to take me further than linebacker would. I think people saw me a little undersized to play linebacker at this level. So, really locked into long snapping.”

Ngo went under the radar in high school. With no Division I offers, he found his first home in Hutchinson, where he was originally recruited as a linebacker. His coach was able to see the change in real time.

“We got him committed to Hutch, and said, ‘Hey, OK, you can practice with the linebackers,'” said Andrew Krause, the special teams coordinator at Hutch CC. “‘And if it goes well, it goes well. If it doesn’t, we got you as a long snapper.’ So, he was in the office a few days later, and ‘OK, long snapping, it is.'”

During his two years at Hutch, Ngo fell in love with long snapping. He says he learned the expectations and responsibilities of long-snapping are overlooked.

“In this world of — especially specialists — in my position, if you mess up one time, then people are going to know, people are going to hate you,” Ngo said. “But if you do your job every time, nobody really cares. That’s just what you’re expected to do.”

After mastering his craft as a long-snapper for two years, Ngo started getting phone calls from Power Five teams. One of those teams was Arkansas. They offered Ngo a preferred walk-on spot.

“It feels like your hard work’s paying off a little bit, you know, just my whole life has kind of been that way,” Ngo said. “I always told myself that if you want to be the best at something, you’ve got to compete with the best. So, it doesn’t matter where you go. You’re going to have to beat competition out and can’t be afraid of it.”

Ngo redshirted his sophomore season at Arkansas but started in every game his junior and senior year, helping Arkansas secure a victory at the Liberty Bowl in 2024. Their kicker; a perfect 3-3 on field goals.

Former Andover head coach Ken Dusenbury said Ngo’s character is another element that set him apart.

“He’s just one of those people that just makes your life better for being involved with him as a person and as a young man,” Dusenbury said. “… My son’s having a wedding celebration today, and you texted me what, 30 minutes ago? And I’m like, ‘Absolutely, I’m going to do this interview for Ashton, you know?'”

The role as a long snapper is a niche position. Ngo said he’s getting used to being under-recognized, as it’s a good thing as a long snapper.

“At the end of the day, you just got to do your job. Just like everybody else on the field,” Ngo said. “So, in my area, I guess it’s better when people don’t know your name. If they do, then you’re probably doing something wrong.”

In terms of next steps for Ngo, he is now looking into the United Football League and Canadian Football League. He says it’s a waiting game at this point and will continue snapping and staying in shape.

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