Recruiting Insight Coach Diego Ryland Virginia Union

I have several articles featuring college coaches that I hope will answer some questions regarding recruiting. Diego Ryland is the Associate Head Coach at Virginia Union, where he is the Running Backs coach and Special Teams Coordinator.

Ryland coach running back Curtis Allen, who was selected as the Harlon Hill Trophy winner (Heisman equivalent for D2), and he coached the two All-American runner-ups, Tabyus Taylor and Jada Byers. The Panthers have made the D2 playoffs the last three seasons.

He was listed as one of the hot head coaching candidates by the HBCU Gameday website

Bio

Coach Ryland got his start playing in a rec league for the Neptunes, where he played running back.

When he got to high school, he moved to quarterback and defensive back at Lake Taylor High School, where he was a member of the first team in Lake Taylor’s history to go undefeated during the regular season (1992). The Titans lost to the eventual State champion Bethel, featuring Allen Iverson.

Coach Ryland had interest from North Carolina State but eventual commited to Virginia State University before joining the Army to care for his family. During his time in the Army, Ryland coached high school ball in Kansas, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia.

College Coaching Career

After retiring in 2016, Ryland was hired as an assistant coach for running backs at Hampton University. A head-coaching change led to a new staff, and Ryland Ryland was set to interview for a coaching job at the University of Richmond.

While he was in town, legendary Head Coach and Virginia Union Athletic Director Joe Taylor introduced Ryland to Virginia Union Head Coach Dr. Alvin Parker, and he has been at Virginia Union ever since.

Recruiting

Coach Ryland prefers to use X (Twitter) for recruiting because it provides access to film and information, and it’s easier to use than e-mail. He spends a good portion of his off-season evaluating film

“Some coaches look at film, but they don’t know what they’re looking at,” Ryland said. “Looking at film and being able to evaluate film is totally different. It’s just like, you know, a kid reading a book and being able to comprehend. If you don’t know what you’re looking at or what you’re looking for, you won’t be able to make a valuable assessment that benefits your program.”

“A kid who has been a starter for three years can put 10 quality clips together,” he added. ‘That doesn’t mean he’s a great football player, that just means he put together a great film.”

Common Recruiting Mistakes

I asked Ryland what issues he sees that hurt recruits, and he said it is how film is created.

“If you play on both sides of the ball, you should have a film for offense, and you should have a film for defense; you should not combine both segments,” he explained.

“It should be: offense, defense, as well as a special teams film, if you have a special teams film,” Ryland said. “If it’s kickoff or punt and you’re making tackles, you can include that with your defensive film. If it’s your return guy, you can include that with your offensive film.”

Ryland also encourages prospects to put their best plays on film for evaluation, regardless of the position they play in high school. He also cleared up a question I had regarding the athlete designator.

He said that “Athlete” is a college designation. Coaches want to recruit the very best football players, and he said the coaches will decide the position once they have that talented player.

He mentioned Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, whom he coached while at Bethel High School. Owusu-Koramoah signed with Notre Dame after playing safety and receiver in High School. Notre Dame made him a linebacker, and that is what he plays in the NFL.

“The only time we categorize a kid as an athlete is when there are multiple positions that he may be good at. However, that will be decided when you get there.”

“The team and the coaches will decide what they’re going to select, because at the time they want you, they just know you’re a good football player,” he said. “But at that time, they don’t know where they’re going to play you as far as offense or defense.”

Get on Coach Ryland’s Radar

Virginia Union holds several satellite recruiting camps in the DMV and North Carolina. They are one of the few football schools that travel to different areas rather than requiring prospects to drive to Richmond.

Last year, they held recruiting camps outside the Richmond area in Alexandria, Norfolk, Richmond, Washington, D.C., and Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina.

“The best way is to follow me on Twitter and look for the dates we’ll be holding our satellite camps,” Ryland said. “We definitely will be making our way to a bunch of the college days, and as long as they’re not on the same day as our satellite camps, we will be there.”