This was one of the more personal recruitments of Major Applewhite’s career. The former Texas assistant head coach returned to the Longhorns in 2008 and one of the players they asked him to recruit was new Detroit Lions cornerback Quandre Diggs. There was a different relationship between Applewhite and Diggs, one Applewhite, now the University of Houston offensive coordinator, shares in the latest recruiting tale. What do you remember about finding Quandre? Major Applewhite: I’ve known about him since he was 5. His older brother (Quentin Jammer) was my roommate. It was kind of funny. I was at Syracuse, Rice and then Alabama. I come back in 2008 and they told me there was a kid down in Engleton named Diggs who was related to Quentin Jammer. I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s his little brother.’ I went to the school and had not seen Quandre since 2001. So it was seven, eight years. It was kind of funny seeing him all grown up, facial hair, the whole deal. This is the little guy who used to hang out in my apartment. But I saw the tape and wasn’t surprised. He always loved football. We’d be out in the apartment parking lot throwing the ball, all that stuff. I got a chance to visit with him, talk to him, watch some tape. He ran track, played football. Could have played basketball, baseball if he wanted to. Every school I went to in that area, because that was my area in recruiting, was howling about him. Like, ‘Are you all going to take Diggs?’ I said, ‘I don’t see why not. He’s a legacy here. He wants to go to Texas. He’s a great football player.’ But the coaches were, for whatever reason, we were dragging our feet on it and he ended up getting an offer and committing. But that’s basically how I found out about him. Came back in 2008 and he was in my area. See the name and that’s Quentin’s little brother. Was Quentin on you more than anyone asking what was going on? Applewhite: I’m trying to remember back exactly what was going on. He wasn’t really hounding me. I think he wasn’t playing that brotherly role like, ‘What the hell?’ There were just honest questions he had, like what is the deal? What are you all thinking in terms of taking him? When would you be taking him? What position would you be taking him at? I think he wasn’t domineering or demanding or anything like that. When did he commit? Applewhite: I don’t know if it was junior day or not, maybe a couple weeks before or a couple weeks after. He was getting offers from others, so we had to move. Basically, coach [Mack] Brown was like, I know people are worried, hung up on this or that, but I’m not going to turn down a kid who has good grades, is a great football player, is a legacy here and can help us at three different positions. I’m not going to let two inches get in the way of that. We’ll find a spot for him and if he can be a great slot receiver, he’ll be a great slot receiver. If he is too short to tackle people or cover people, then we’ll put him back there with Major to return kicks and punts and play tailback. I can hear coach Brown saying this, ‘I’ve coached for too damned long not to take a kid that I like who is also a great football player.’ Was it relief for you when you finally offered? Applewhite: Yeah, a little bit. Some of the coaches in my area were like, ‘What are you all doing?’ I’m like, ‘We’re evaluating people.’ It’s not an overnight process. We’re evaluating. From a personal standpoint, I was like, what are we waiting on, but then you realize not everyone knows what you know. You’ve have Jammer in your house. You’ve had Quandre in your house. You know his family. You know his brother. You’ve gone to Las Vegas with Quentin and you know the family. You know them. Are Quentin and Quandre’s playing styles similar? Applewhite: Quandre has better ball skills. He can catch the football a lot better. He can catch the ball a lot better than Quentin could. Quentin was a bigger body, a 6-foot guy, very strong upper body and was very difficult at the line of scrimmage. When he got his hands and arms on you, it was difficult. He gave a lot of people problems at the line of scrimmage. Quandre can be difficult at the line of scrimmage, but he's got just great ball skills and had phenomenal instincts. Understands the game very well and can position himself to make certain tackles. He can feel certain situations and can overcome all the measurables because of his feel for the game.
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