When redshirt sophomore receiver John Diarse played quarterback in high school, he had the width of the field to work with — 53.3 yards of turf, from sideline to sideline.
Now, depending on his route, the converted LSU pass catcher is allotted maybe half of that to create separation from a defensive back.
If he learned one thing from being a mobile signal-caller at Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana, it was finding ways to move the chains. The best way he knows is using his 6-foot-1, 209-pound frame.
To be an effective Southeastern Conference wideout, though, he had to slim down from the moment he stepped on campus.
“During my recruiting process, all I heard guys talk about was how big college guys were,” Diarse said with a smile. “My whole drive for every summer was to be bigger than the year before. It got out of hand a little bit because I obviously had to lose weight when I got here.”
Understanding what it takes to be receiver for the Tigers was an adjustment for Diarse. But his preparation for it dates back to his roots in a football-crazed North Louisiana.
The former four-star prospect was taller than any other kid he grew up with, so learning to play with his older cousins wasn’t difficult. From those experiences, Diarse was leaps and bounds ahead of his peers when he participated with his age group, both physically and mentally.
“I was so, so far ahead of the game because you got older guys showing you what to do, what to look for, how to catch, how to run, make guys miss,” Diarse said. “When you get that thing at a young age, it only excels you way faster than guys who are just starting or guys at your own age group.”
Diarse was a quarterback through youth football, middle school and junior high, but he was moved to receiver when he arrived at Neville. He worked in tandem with former Neville and Louisiana Tech quarterback Taylor Burch, who he considered to be his “modern-day Aaron Rodgers.”
Despite his quick adaptation to a high school system, the message from coaches as a freshman was simple.
“‘Just run straight, and we’re going to throw you the ball,’” Diarse said.
But he became more than a deep threat in the passing game. Following the Tigers’ 4A state championship in 2009, Diarse moved back to quarterback and eventually led Neville to another state crown during his junior season.
In his senior year, Diarse racked up more than 1000 yards through the air and on the ground to go with 18 passing touchdowns and 21 rushing touchdowns.
But he was back at wideout in the U.S. Army All-American, having already committed to LSU in late March of his junior year.
Though he flourished in spring camp of 2013, arriving in Baton Rouge in January, Diarse redshirted in his freshman season as he recovered from a severe high ankle sprain.
He calls sitting out his rookie season “a blessing.” It allowed him to grasp all the little things required of a receiver in the college game.
“It’s a process,” Diarse said. “You can’t turn into Randy Moss overnight.”
Diarse, though, made a statement from the moment he finally did get on the field.
Trailing by 11 points early in the fourth quarter of LSU’s opener against Wisconsin last season, Diarse hauled in a pass 11 yards past the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-21 in Badger territory, bounced off three defenders and stiff armed a fourth as he glided into the end zone for his first-career score.
The powerful touchdown scamper was a crucial one in a game the Tigers won 28-24, but he was mostly overshadowed by fellow receivers junior Travin Dural and sophomore Malachi Dupre in a year where the passing game was subpar.
Though he only finished with 15 total catches, which was fourth on the team, he was efficient with his opportunities as 11 of those receptions went for either a touchdown or a first down.
In a crowded LSU position group this season, Diarse has fine tuned his footwork to make life more difficult for defensive backs.
In Dupre’s opinion, it’s not necessarily a physical change that has helped Diarse.
“I feel like with him, and all receivers alike, it’s just confidence, and he’s a year older,” Dupre said. “His style of play is physical. He’s a bigger receiver. He just enjoys playing the game. He plays with a lot of passion. He talks a lot when he’s playing because he’s just one of those guys that’s emotional with his game. He just enjoys playing.
As Dupre noted, Diarse’s passion for the game carries over the field in vocal way. He seems to be a very composed person off the field, but he’s willing to speak his mind amongst teammates in positive way.
“He’s a guy, if we have to have a speech or a pregame anything, it will be him,” Dural said. “When we get together as group, he’s a guy who does most of the talking. He puts a lot of passion in his game. He plays it with a passion. When he speaks, he speaks with a passion.”