Get to know Northern Valley Regional HS football player Jack Diggins
OLD TAPPAN, N.J. — In his 20-plus years as a highly successful football coach at Northern Valley High School in Old Tappan, Brian Dunn has seen his share of inspirational stories. Jack Diggins remains a particular personal favorite among his players, past and present.
It is not so much what Diggins, an aggressive middle linebacker and bruising running back, achieved in his final senior season during NVOT’s amazing run this past fall. Diggins’ path has been anything but routine and as much a tribute to his love of the game AND his complete being, on and off the field.
Yes, Diggins is a versatile 6-foot-1-inch, 215-pound varsity athlete, with basketball and track and field complementing his football skills. A strong academic record (National Honor Society) already has earned scholarship offers from first-rate colleges, and he is treasurer of this year’s NVOT senior class, after having served as class president in his sophomore and junior years.
But his journey, which fittingly began on the football fields as early as kindergarten in Harrington Park, was not always paved with pleasure. During his sophomore year, Diggins suffered a bout of mononucleosis that sidelined him for half of the abbreviated six-game season. Committed, he returned for the season finale against Northern Highlands and led the team in tackles.
As a junior, Diggins struggled through a painful muscle injury in his shoulder. Without telling anyone about the extent of a dislocation which he knew might end his season, Diggins bought a shoulder brace that he used as a safety crutch.
He survived and led the league in tackles before a post-season diagnosis of a torn labrum curtailed any basketball calendar. Asked why he went to such perilous lengths for an injury that can require anywhere from three to six months of recovery, he now says, “I had to keep playing.”
“He’s a good kid, but it’s not fun to play with pain,” Dunn says of Diggins, who seems the perfect fit for what he hopes will be a future in finance where how to produce winning numbers require not only individual brilliance but teamwork.
“It’s a very competitive sport,” Diggins says of football. “It takes a whole team. Eleven players. Everyone has to work together. If one person doesn’t do the right thing, it can fall apart. In football, you have to work with other people.”
Diggins has done that. He and Tommy Caracciolo, NVOT’s standout quarterback, have played together for 13 years and are best friends. “Their whole life,”Diggins’ mother Melissa says proudly.
Family roots are strong as well. His mother was a versatile multi-sport athlete and cheerleader at Cresskill High School and is a special education teacher in Dumont. His father, Dan, a foreman with Plumbers Local No. 1 of New York City, played catch in the backyard, watched Jets games with Jack and even coached some of his early age-group teams. His older sister, Daniella, is a junior cheerleader at Gettysburg College.
Diggins remains attached to his hometown. “It’s a great community,” he says of Harrington Park. “It’s small. One square mile. You go to school K through 8. They focus on building character. You know everyone. HP, they always said, ‘they’re leading the way.’ That was engraved into me.”
At 17, the red-headed Diggins also seems to know and trust himself. Asked for a self-description, he says modestly “I’m a leader,” but then quickly adds “I’m humble and respectful and take my academics seriously. I work hard in the classroom. And I’m kind.”
On the road to NVOT, Diggins flirted with many sports. Besides age-group flag football with the Raiders, a successful multi-town franchise in the Northern Valley, he finished third in a statewide wrestling tournament and stayed with the sport through the sixth grade.
Adaptability has been a valuable tool. When NVOT’s leading rusher Aidan Heaney was injured and unavailable earlier this season, Diggins stepped in and scored two touchdowns, rushed for 65 yards in 14 carries and added 12 tackles on defense in the team’s 35-13 victory over Paterson Eastside. Besides being the second leading rusher behind Heaney for much of the season, Diggins the linebacker was second in solo tackles and assists on defense.
He also seems willing to settle for making rebounds as much a priority on the basketball court as scoring. Then there are his favorite field events (pole vault, triple jump, high jump, discus and javelin) which are less visible than track sprints and distances but would seem to make him an ideal future candidate for the decathlon or pentathlon.
Diggins’ range and tastes extend to a love of music, which includes concerts and a steady stream of various vibes within their Harrington Park home. An attachment for diverse groups such as the Dave Matthews Band and Coldplay also speaks to the Jack Diggins mantra: Coldplay’s No. 1 hit in 2021, “Viva la Vida”, is his favorite song. Translated from Spanish, it means “long live life.”
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.