Logan Diggs: The Ultimate Competitor, Decision-Maker & Mentor
2021 Archbishop Rummel (La.) running back Logan Diggs started his football career at the age of six in a recreational league.
From that moment, his mother, AJ Diggs, noticed her son was a little different than his peers.
"Logan has always been competitive," Ms. Diggs told Irish Sports Daily. "He's always been advanced for his age. I noticed it a long time ago that football was something he was probably going to pursue and continue to grow in."
Diggs will also quickly make sure she takes credit for her son's competitive nature.
"I was a cheerleader and did dance," stated Ms. Diggs. "He has that competitive mentality. I always taught him to be better than his best self. He's pretty competitive."
ACADEMIC GROWTH
The competitive nature on the football field was there from day one, but the 6-foot, 195-pounder learned he had to also compete in the classroom.
Diggs had to learn through some tough lessons as his mother wasn't afraid to take sports away if he wasn't living up to her standards.
"He always knew sports was secondary and he had to do the work," said Ms. Diggs. "Whenever I wasn't satisfied with what he was bringing home in the classroom, he would get sports taken away. He didn't care for that too much."
The Louisiana native didn't just have his mother pushing him in the classroom as she made sure his coaches also held him to a high standard, which sometimes left them in a predicament.
"I had to have some conversations with coaches because they needed him," Ms. Diggs recalled. "I told them I needed them to help me, as well. I had to get coaches on my side to back me up and tell him he had to sit out because he got an F.
"It clicked in his own time."
The tough love led to a quick turnaround in the classroom and now Diggs boasts a 3.67 GPA at Archbishop Rummel, which has led to offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Colorado, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Purdue, SMU, USC, Vanderbilt and Virginia along with many others.
"We started with the academics a little later," explained Ms. Diggs. "He didn't realize it was important, especially with him knowing he wanted to pursue football. I would say maybe seventh or eighth grade, I told him he had to get it together in the classroom and he did a 360.
"He went from average grades to A's and B's in one year."
OFF THE FIELD
Diggs might hold offers from around 25 programs across the country, but you'd never know it when the pads are off.
"He's not big-headed at all," Diggs said. "The other day he posted on Twitter, he needed a break from recruiting. It's overwhelming. It's not that it's not a welcome situation because he knows his talent can provide an excellent future.
"It's so much. He's always on the phone. Logan isn't a big talker on the phone. He'll text all day and I hear him all day on the phone. He's talking to this coach and that coach. He has a lot of coaches that are reaching out to him. I guess he just wants some quiet time to be able to think."
Outside of recruiting and away from athletics and school, Diggs is a typical teenager with a big heart.
"He's a clown," laughed Ms. Diggs. "He's goofy. He's a good kid. I've never had any major issues with him. Logan has a pure heart and he wants to know and learn everything. He enjoys his life."
While he might take over the room, Diggs is also the one his friends turn to when they need advice.
"I've noticed when I go out with him that his friends gravitate towards him," Ms. Diggs said. "He has that people-person personality."
And yes, Diggs plays his fair share of video games, but he also spends his free time watching film.
"He's a gamer," stated Ms. Diggs. "He likes to play video games and he hangs out with his friends. They were at one of the kid's houses last weekend and we were supposed to have a hurricane or tropical storm and they were watching film from last year.
"The sky was falling and I had to tell him to get home, but they just hang out at each other's houses."
Diggs has also made sure to instill good decision making into her son.
"I've always told him he needs to make good decisions," explained Ms. Diggs. "He prides himself on making good decisions and doing the right thing. I do know he's sometimes a mentor to his friends.
"He's level-headed. He's a good thinker. I've always told him to make good decisions and that will get him further than anything in the world. He makes the decisions and he passes that on to his friends. I've witnessed it."
THE DECISION
When it comes to his recruitment, Diggs isn't in a hurry to make a college decision. The Covid-19 pandemic has factored into that as he hasn't been able to take critical visits, but he's also focused on making sure he does his due diligence on each program.
"He wants to go to a good school where he'll have the classroom," Ms. Diggs stated. "We always fall back on education. If you don't have anything else - if football ends one day, you have to have your education.
"He definitely wants a program where his degree will hold weight. Academics are important, but also, the athletic program is important."
The unique process has also led Ms. Diggs to make sure her son makes his own decision. It might mean staying out of some conversations, but she wants to make sure her son builds the relationships he needs to be able to make his own decision.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has made our recruiting process a little different," Ms. Diggs explained. "I've seen some parents want to take the forefront and be very involved, but I want to take the backseat.
"I need Logan to have a relationship with these coaches because they're going to be his family for the next three or four years. He's not going to be home with me. I need them to be looking out for my kid while he's away with them."
In fact, Diggs would encourage other parents to let their son handle more of their own recruitment because she knows her son will have to live with that decision.
"I would tell the other parents to let the boys do their talking and getting to know these coaches and programs," Ms. Diggs said. "Logan has to go there. I'm going not going to college with him."
The time spent on the phone and over Zoom will help steer Diggs to a decision, but his mother doesn't believe the magnitude of his opportunities has fully hit just yet.
"I don't think the hype of it all has hit him - the opportunities that are being afforded to him,” said Ms. Diggs.
"I want him to make the best decision for himself. He'll have my support with whatever he does. I'll also be there to help him rationalize his thoughts and anything that comes up, whether it's academics or athletics."