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Maema Njongmeta

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Maema Njongmeta
No. 45 – Cincinnati Bengals
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (2001-03-09) March 9, 2001 (age 23)
Yaounde, Cameroon
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school:Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Illinois)
College:Wisconsin (2019–2023)
Undrafted:2024
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Maema Njongmeta (born March 9, 2001) is a Cameroonian-American professional football linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Early life

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Njongmeta was born in Cameroon, and moved to the United States in 2004.[1]

Njongmeta's hometown is Buffalo Grove, Illinois and attended Stevenson High School. In his high school career he notched 196 tackles with 34 going for a loss, 19 sacks, three fumble recoveries, and two forced fumbles.[2] He committed to play college football at the University of Wisconsin over other schools such as Iowa State, Navy, and Tulane.[3][4]

College career

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In Njongmeta's first two seasons in 2019 and 2020, he redshirted and only appeared in one game in which he recorded no statistics.[5] In the 2021 season, Njongmeta totalled four tackles in two games.[6] In week three of the 2022 season, Njongmeta tallied his first career interception, as he helped the Badgers rout New Mexico State 66–7.[7] In week eleven Njongmeta recorded a sack to help end a drive, but Wisconsin ended up losing to Iowa 24–10.[8] In week twelve, Njongmeta notched 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack, as helped the Badgers become bowl eligible by beating Nebraska 15–14.[9] In the Badgers season finale, Njongmeta had a career performance, tallying 12 tackles with 2.5 going for a loss, and 0.5 sack, but Wisconsin fell to Minnesota 23–16.[10] Njongmeta finished his breakout 2022 season with 95 tackles with 11.5 being for a loss, 3.5 sacks, a pass deflection, and an interception.[11] For his performance on the season, Njongmeta was named third team all-Big Ten by the media.[12][13] Ahead of the 2023 season, Njongmeta was named to the watch list for multiple awards: the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Rotary Lombardi Award, the Bednarik Award, and the Butkus Award.[14][15][16][17]

College statistics

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Season Team Games Tackles Int & Fum
GP GS Solo Ast Cmb TfL Yds Sck Int PD FF FR
2019 Wisconsin 0 0 Redshirted
2020 Wisconsin 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2021 Wisconsin 6 0 2 2 4 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2022 Wisconsin 13 11 48 47 95 11.5 40 3.5 1 1 0 0
2023 Wisconsin 13 10 30 29 59 8.5 16 3.0 0 1 0 3
Career 33 21 80 78 158 20.0 56 6.5 1 2 0 3

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11+3⁄4 in
(1.82 m) 		229 lb
(104 kg) 		32+1⁄8 in
(0.82 m) 		9+3⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.80 s 1.68 s 2.75 s 4.61 s 7.32 s 34.5 in
(0.88 m)		 9 ft 8 in
(2.95 m)		 15 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[18][19][20]

Njongmeta signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent on May 10, 2024.[21] Njongmeta was among the 53 players to make the Bengals' Week 1 roster.

References

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  1. ^ Bartholomew, Colten (April 19, 2024). "The greater meaning behind Wisconsin football's most interesting name". BadgerExtra. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "Maema Njongmeta's Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Flood, Evan. "Njongmeta Commits to Wisconsin". 247Sports. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Pope, LaMond. "On Wisconsin: Stevenson linebacker Maema Njongmeta verbally commits to play for the Badgers". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "Maema Njongmeta". Wisconsin Badgers University Athletics. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "Maema Njongmeta 2021 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  7. ^ Madsen, Tamira. "Allen's 3 TDs spark Wisconsin in 66-7 rout of New Mexico St". AP News. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Belz, Mtt. "Wisconsin falls to Iowa 24-10 in a mistake-filled loss". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Belz, Matt. "Wisconsin is going bowling after a 15-14 comeback win at Nebraska". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  10. ^ Belz, Matt. "Game recap: Wisconsin loses at home to Minnesota 23-16". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  11. ^ "Maema Njongmeta 2022 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Viviani, Nick. "Badgers' Herbig named to All-Big Ten first team". NBC15. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  13. ^ "Badgers LB Herbig named consensus first-team All-Big Ten". Bally Sports. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  14. ^ Hanley, Zach. "Mordecai, Allen named to Maxwell award watch list". Fox47. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  15. ^ Olinger, Daniel. "Indiana's Aaron Casey Named to Butkus Award Preseason Watch List". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  16. ^ Olinger, Daniel. "Indiana's Andre Carter Named to Bednarik Award Preseason Watch List". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  17. ^ Low, Asher. "Wisconsin LB Maema Njongmeta named to another watch list". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  18. ^ "Maema Njongmeta Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  19. ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Maema Njongmeta College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  20. ^ "How every Badger performed at the 2024 Wisconsin football pro day". BadgersWire.USAToday.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  21. ^ "Bengals Sign 14 College Free Agents". Bengals.com. May 10, 2024.
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