Before NFL success with Vikings, Stefon Diggs was impossible to stop in high school
A group of kids lined the fence at Good Counsel High in Olney, Md., just beyond the end zone and close to the exits. They clamored for a glove, maybe a shoe, a quick signature — anything from Stefon Diggs.
At the time, Diggs was a senior at Good Counsel, bound for the University of Maryland, a five-star recruit who played offense, defense and special teams for one of the best high school teams in the nation. When National Signing Day rolled around in February 2012, he was the No. 2 wide receiver in the country, according to Rivals.com.
Now the 24-year-old is the Minnesota Vikings' second-leading receiver as the team hosts the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. With 64 catches for 849 yards, the 6-foot, 191-pounder has emerged alongside breakout Adam Thielen in one of the NFL's better passing offenses.
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But before Diggs became a household name in Minnesota, before he was chosen in the fifth round of the 2015 draft and even before his breakout freshman year with Maryland, when he ranked eighth nationally in all-purpose yards, Diggs was a four-year starter in high school, becoming the player every kid wanted to mimic.
They wanted to juke defenders like Diggs. They wanted to defend receivers like Diggs. They wanted to be Diggs.
"I remember having a specific conversation with him, letting him know that everything you do now, there are going to be little boys in Pop Warner running their routes, saying they want to run them like Stefon Diggs," Good Counsel assistant coach Kevin McFadden said. "They are going to want the gloves whether they are sweaty, regardless if they are wet. They are going to want you to sign the back of their shirts and all of that stuff. And he didn't pay me any mind for a minute."
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It wasn't until Diggs saw the kids in the end zone that night at Good Counsel during his senior season that the realization clicked in his head. He turned around to give McFadden "a look," almost to say, "'Yes, Coach. I understand now.'"
With Diggs on the field, Good Counsel won three Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles and went 12-0 his senior season. Diggs was The Washington Post's All-Met Defensive Player of the Year as a cornerback in 2011, with 31½ tackles, 5½ tackles for loss, four interceptions and three forced fumbles. On offense, he caught 36 passes for 770 yards and eight touchdowns, and he rushed 17 times for 277 yards and three scores. He also returned a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown.
"He was playing PlayStation in high school with defenders, and he was playing PlayStation in college with defenders, and he is doing the same thing now," McFadden said.
An 'impossible' task
Even coaches who had to game-plan against Diggs, such as former Gonzaga coach Aaron Brady, said he was one of the best high school players he has ever seen.
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Brady recalled a moment in the 2011 WCAC championship game when Gonzaga played top-ranked Good Counsel. On the first play of the game, Diggs came in motion and took a jet sweep to the right. Gonzaga had it covered with two defenders unblocked, so Diggs reversed field and went 70 yards for a touchdown.
"Preparing for him was ... no, it was impossible, to be honest," Brady said.
Former St. John's coach Joe Patterson said Diggs was without parallel when it came to pure quickness and athletic ability.
"Some of the rules of high school football didn't apply," Patterson said. "There were times when you really thought you had him contained, and it really turned out to be an illusion."
As for Diggs's coaches at Good Counsel, they would sit down every Wednesday after practice and go over the game plan. Their conversations would routinely revolve around Diggs. How could they get him the ball 20 times that week? How could they do it in this situation or another situation?
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"Stefon, as we say, is the real deal," said retired Good Counsel coach Bob Milloy, who said he would try to think of at least two or three new ways to get Diggs the ball each week.
Milloy, Maryland's all-time winningest high school football coach, retired in February 2017 with a record of 405-124-1, including 142-41 at Good Counsel. He first saw Diggs when he was playing youth football in seventh grade, and Diggs's athleticism stood out within the first three plays. When the time came to choose a high school, Diggs picked Good Counsel with a push from his father, Aron. Aron died in January 2008 of congestive heart failure, when Stefon was 14.
"It kind of brings tears to my eyes to know where he came from to get to where he is and the different levels of adversity it took for him to get to where he was and where he is today," McFadden said.
Program-changer for Terps
When Diggs decided to stay home and chose Maryland over Auburn, Ohio State and Florida, his goal was to give former Terrapins coach Randy Edsall a program-changer. During his freshman year of 2012, he was exactly that.
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"He was a guy who was a freshman that wasn't afraid of the big stage," said Edsall, who noted Diggs was one of the best athletes he has been around. "He brought a level of confidence to our team in terms of how he competed and how he played."
However, after his breakout freshman season finished with him as runner-up for ACC rookie of the year, Diggs battled injuries, missing nearly half his sophomore year with a broken leg and two games as a junior with a lacerated kidney. He decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the draft: Chosen 146th by the Vikings, Diggs was just another mid-round pick with moderate expectations. Now in his third NFL season, he is viewed as a steal for the Vikings.
With Diggs outperforming the rookie contract for a fifth-round pick, he could be in line for a hefty contract extension this offseason; he is eligible for free agency after the 2018 season. Andrew Krammer, Vikings reporter for the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, said he expects the Vikings to approach Diggs this offseason with an offer, but the exact amount is still undetermined.
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"There's the possibility he could find more money elsewhere," Krammer said. "But if he wants to stay [with Minnesota], 13 wins, there is pretty good reason for him to stick around."
After totaling seven touchdowns through his first two years in the NFL, Diggs's eight touchdowns this season were tied with tight end Kyle Rudolph for the team lead. His success hasn't shocked those who knew him, but flashes of his rise to fame still bring back memories of him as a wide-eyed teenager, determined to be the best.
"I picked up a magazine the other day, and on the back cover he was doing an advertisement wearing a suit," Milloy said. "When I went up to Minnesota to see the Vikings and Buccaneers game, on the way into the stadium, one out of three fans were wearing Diggs's No. 14. He is a rock star up there — he really is.
"I just had no doubts he would get there, and I'm glad he did."
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