Manny Diaz not 'damaged goods' for La Tech

[Harry]

MURFREESBORO Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz said his best recruiting job was in landing defensive coordinator Manny Diaz this offseason.

Diaz a former defensive coordinator at MTSU, Mississippi State and most recently Texas was targeted once he was on open coaching market, following his firing by the Longhorns last season.

"It was a home run. I felt like my best recruiting job had to be going after Manny Diaz," Holtz said. "I know he had a lot of other opportunities at other schools that would pay him more money. So we are very blessed to get him.

"When I left him at the (NCAA coaches) convention, I said, 'I don't care if I got to get on a plane every day.' I don't have rules restricting me how many times I can contact him. I went full speed because that's the guy I wanted."

Diaz's MTSU defense broke numerous school record for sacks and tackles-for-loss from 2006-09. It was the catalyst in the Blue Raiders' 10-win season en route to a New Orleans Bowl victory in 2009, a year in which MTSU ranked second nationally in tackles-for-loss.

Read more: http://www.dnj.com/story/sports/2014/07/26/manny-diaz-damaged-goods-la-tech/13210319/

[Ben Gooding]

Just run the read-option against Diaz' defenses. Seemed to work for BYU at the tune of 500 yards.