Bob Diaco isn’t a born-and-bred Connecticut guy. The new head football coach was born in New Jersey, he played at Iowa and most recently coached at Notre Dame.
But in his first few months in Storrs, he’s looked as though Husky blue has flowed through his veins forever.
Whether it’s been traveling the state and talking to fans individually or welcoming them to Storrs for a football clinic, Diaco seems to have embraced his role at the state’s flagship public university. Heck, he even spruced up the practice facility.
While you’d expect a new coach to try and integrate himself into the state and university, the excitement that’s resulted has been quite impressive considering the season UConn just suffered through. It’s there among fans, among the UConn administration and most importantly his players.
Now, the question is if Diaco’s positive influence can carry over onto the recruiting trail.
The level of talent that he will bring along remains to be seen, but there are already positive signs. The 11 commitments for the class of 2015 that UConn compiled before July 1 is believed to be the most for the Huskies since they entered the FBS. Are the guys that Diaco is bringing in the most highly touted in the nation? Of course not. This isn’t the SEC. But Diaco doesn’t seem to care how the experts are ranking his players. He wants to make sure they’re right for his team.
And in this group, Diaco seems to have found exactly what he wanted. Courant beat writer Desmond Conner caught up with Scout.com’s Brian Dohn, who pointed out some of the similarities in Diaco’s 2015 newcomers.
“He’s done a good job assembling guys that have certain characteristics: big frames, athletic but need to grow into their bodies a little more or need to develop physically,” Dohn said.
Diaco has recruited on potential. He’s found players who can develop into game changers, even if it might not happen in their freshman or sophomore years.
For now at least, recruits seem to be on board. Running back Arkeel Newsome, who committed under Paul Pasqualoni, stuck with the Huskies despite the turmoil of 2013. Newsome spoke highly of the new coaching staff and told the New Haven Register:
“(In) a year or two, I think [the program] is going to change a lot. Just me being a part of that is going to be great. I’m definitely going to help them do that.”
2015 cornerback John Robinson seemed to have similar hope, and gushed to Conner about the atmosphere Diaco has created, how UConn feels like home and how he already loves his future coaches.
2015 defensive back Aaron Garland echoed the sentiment to his local paper, Oak Leaves.
“It felt right as soon as I stepped on campus,” he said. “After I finished talking with head coach Bob Diaco and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter I knew that Connecticut was the place for me.”
Still Diaco knows that the UConn football brand doesn’t have the allure of the power conference schools or even some mid-majors. The only way to change that is to establish a winning tradition, both in the standings and in the minds of everyone around him.
Bring top-level opponents into the Rent, even if it has to be in the non-conference season. Keep meeting with fans and getting them excited. Keep at it on the recruiting trail. Maybe keep dropping Latin into press conferences for good measure.
The early signs have been successful. Recruits are happy. Fans are starting to notice – UConn drew about 6,500 to its annual spring game back in April, about double the turnout from last year. But there’s a long way to go.
From here, he needs to demand the world from his players, staff and fans. Maybe keep the practice facility clean too. The little things help.
