Logan Diggs’ ascent continues with career day, highlight hurdle run
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Notre Dame running back Logan Diggs’ hurdle of a Virginia defender doesn’t happen without a misstep from a teammate.
Diggs chugged 26 yards late in the first quarter of the Irish’s 28-3 win over the Cavaliers, with a leap over defensive back Anthony Johnson right in the middle. The former high school hurdler never broke stride as he made liftoff, cleared Johnson’s tackle attempt and landed six yards later.
Johnson, though, stood in Diggs’ way because senior wide receiver Braden Lenzy couldn’t block him long enough.
“I messed up the block and he got to hurdle the dude, so that was a little positive and negative,” Lenzy said. “Made film tomorrow a little better for me.”
Lenzy, lined up to the boundary side with Johnson across from him, ran a clear-out and started blocking about 10 yards downfield. He initially moved Johnson back, but Johnson freed himself, reversed course and charged down the sideline toward Diggs, who was barreling right at him.
Johnson went low, bending at the waist. Diggs saw it and launched off the ground as if there were springs in his shoes. He landed and continued running before a shove sent him out of bounds. All told he made three defenders miss on the play.
A lost rep for Lenzy turned into a highlight that will live with Diggs long after he’s done at Notre Dame. All’s well that ends well. And Diggs has a way of authoring good endings.
“A lot of his plays, they look effortless,” Lenzy said. “What he’s doing is very difficult.
“He’s giving a different look and different style of running. It has been a huge morale booster.”
Diggs ran for a career-high 64 yards vs. Virginia, needing just nine carries to get there. The 26-yarder is his longest gain this year. In five games since Notre Dame threw him into the offense, Diggs has 197 yards on 37 carries and two touchdowns. He’s Notre Dame’s third-leading rusher and has barged into a 2A and 2B timeshare with sophomore Chris Tyree behind starter Kyren Williams.
Diggs’ opportunity arrived Oct. 9 at Virginia Tech when Tyree left with a turf toe injury that ultimately kept him out of the offense the next two games. Even with Tyree back, though, Notre Dame has kept Diggs involved.
You don’t have to squint to see why.
“He’s patient,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “He’s physical. He sees the hole.”
In this case, the hole was above ground. His run turned a third-and-two on Notre Dame’s own 48-yard line into a first-and-10 on Virginia’s 26. Four plays later, Notre Dame took a 14-0 lead with 14:11 left in the half on Lenzy’s four-yard touchdown catch.
Asked about Diggs’ impact, Kelly cited a different run as the most impressive to him: a seven-yarder on Notre Dame’s final drive (excluding the kneel-down) on a play designed to go off tackle. Instead, Diggs read the defense’s run fit to the edge and cut upfield behind center Jarrett Patterson.
“It was his last run where they sent the corner from the boundary and spike the defense in the field, he cuts it back,” Kelly said. “It was a veteran run.”
From a freshman who already looks like a veteran.
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