A bond that has its roots in The Garden State
The writing was on the wall for Syracuse Orange defensive lineman Fadil Diggs to return to the Northeast.
Coming out of Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, New Jersey, in 2020, 247Sports ranked Diggs as the fourth-best prospect in the state and 155th in the country. Amidst offers from over 30 other schools, the big man chose Texas A&M, trusting in Aggies’ defensive line coach Elijah Robinson, a fellow Camden native and Woodrow Wilson alum who played for Penn State as a defensive tackle and offensive guard from 2004-07.
“[Robinson’s] always open. His office is open for everybody,” Diggs said.
In his senior season last year, Diggs put up his best numbers yet, recording four sacks, 36 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss and two pass deflections in 12 games. He notched two of those sacks in a contest against Alabama, a team that reached the College Football Playoff.
bringing the pressure again
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— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 7, 2023
But then the tide began to turn down in College Station. Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher was fired midway through last season and Robinson was named the interim head coach. However, A&M limped into the Texas Bowl, where it lost to Oklahoma State. Before its bowl game on Dec. 3, 2023, Robinson jumped ship and joined Fran Brown as the defensive coordinator at SU. The two previously worked together in lesser roles at Temple from 2014-16 and at Baylor in 2017.
Brown and Robinson enter the 315 with invaluable experience from coaching in the Southeastern Conference, arguably college football’s strongest conference. At least one team from the SEC has made the CFP in all 10 seasons.
“It’s a great conference and I really enjoyed my time there. We played against some good competition week in and week out,” Robinson said.
From there, the Orange coaching staff began actively recruiting Diggs’ brother, Fatim. A three-star linebacker in the 2024 class, Fatim committed to SU on Dec. 18. One day later, Fadil decided to join his brother, making the switch from A&M to Syracuse for one final season.
“It’s my senior year. I just wanted to play close to home,” Fadil said.
SU’s defensive line will look totally different from a year ago. In the transfer portal alone, the Orange gained Diggs, Isaiah Hastings (Alabama) and Dion Wilson (New Mexico State) but lost Kevon Darton (Arizona) and Terry Lockett (James Madison). Caleb Okechukwu declared for the NFL Draft, while new commits KingJoseph Edwards, Caden Brown and Maraad Watson should also compete for reps.
It’s still very early in camp, but Fadil’s familiarity with Robinson’s defensive scheme should put him a leg-up on his competition.
“I’ve been a big help teaching the young guys certain movements because I knew the defense before,” Fadil said.
Despite all the moving parts, one thing remains constant: Robinson’s strong bond with Fadil, Fatim and their family. Along with Brown, their Camden roots sparked a relationship that will leave a lasting impression on Orange fans for years to come.