Every athlete has a unique path in college athletics these days, but few can say they’ve played for a program that isn’t even playing games.
Except Tony Diaz.
Iowa football’s shiny new transfer wide receiver has generated plenty of offseason hype as he prepares for his first season in the Big Ten, but his road to getting to this point was exactly that.
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Growing up in the football-crazed state of Texas (San Marcos) meant the 5-foot-10, 184-pound Diaz was one of many talented high school football players looking for a college opportunity.
While the state’s top wide receivers Micah Hudson (Texas Tech) and Bryant Wesco Jr. (Clemson) landed at top-tier programs, Diaz was left with two offers to choose from – Army, known for its run-heavy triple option offense, or Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), a program that wasn’t set to begin FCS play until Diaz’s true sophomore season in 2025.
Diaz would’ve been fine playing for Army, but it was a previous relationship with incoming UTRGV head coach Travis Bush that pushed him to make the four-hour trek south to Edinburg.
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Diaz would have to take a redshirt year while the program prepared to begin operations, but Bush’s plan to build the new program was too good to pass up.
“I went with Coach Bush, he gave me the vision for what the school was going to be like for the season and what the workouts were going to be like, and I trusted in his vision,” Diaz said.
“We just had practices, but Coach Bush and the coaching staff back over there did a good job making it feel as much as like a season.”
Needless to say, that trust paid massive dividends.
It’s very common for brand-new programs to struggle in their first few years of college football, but the Vaqueros instantly became media darlings at the FCS level, becoming the first FCS team in history to go 9-3 in an inaugural season.
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UTRGV’s poor strength of schedule (three non Division-I teams were on the schedule) was alleged to be the reason why it didn’t qualify for the FCS playoffs, but Diaz turned in a fantastic campaign. His 11 receiving touchdowns (881 yards, 67 catches) were a Southland Conference best, and Phil Steele named him the 2025 Southland Freshman of the Year.
Not surprisingly, Diaz’s highlights and statistics generated plenty of interest from big-name programs. Alabama, Kentucky, Baylor, Illinois, Arkansas, and others reportedly offered Diaz, but Iowa‘s strong culture under longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz stood above the rest.
Diaz had long respected the consistent and successful program Ferentz has built in Iowa City, including Ferentz’s reputation for “turning boys into men.” While Diaz did acknowledge Alabama’s storied history, he knew the Hawkeyes were the right fit for him after meeting with Ferentz and offensive coordinator Tim Lester.
The Texas native announced he would become a Hawkeye on Jan. 9 – just one day before he was scheduled to visit Alabama.
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Te culture here is like no other. Everybody comes in, works, everybody’s bought in, and the good thing about that, with everybody being bought in, you have no choice but to buy in,” Diaz said. “I think I made the right decision.”
Now it’s time to play football. The season is just 52 days away, which means Diaz doesn’t have much time to practice Lester’s West Coast-style before the season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5.
“The playbook is definitely something else. It took some time to get used to but I think I’m getting used to it, and you can tell on the field,” Diaz said. “The more I get used to it, the better, the easier, looser I play. So I like it so far.”
While Diaz may take some time to adjust to the highest level of college football, there’s one thing that he holds on to that has carried him to success – his nickname, “The Boogeyman.”
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Diaz earned the mantra from UTRGV defensive line coach Nate Langford because he was consistently “killing the defensive backs” with his route running ability in practice. Diaz has used the nickname ever since, and even tattooed the phrase “You Can’t Kill The Boogeyman” on his left bicep.
What “The Boogeyman” will accomplish in Iowa City remains to be seen, but if the ball is ever going Diaz’s way, you better believe that he’ll make the play.
[When] the ball’s in the air, I have no choice but to get it. It came to me for a reason,” Diaz said. “Our quarterback’s depending on me to catch the ball, so I’m going to do whatever it takes to help.”
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io
