AGOURA HILLS — A special section of the Rose Bowl, with as many as 100 coaches, players and community members, will be present Saturday to watch the hometown kid from Agoura Hills.
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UCLA senior quarterback Ty Dieffenbach wore the ‘A-Town’ logo and represented the Chargers of Agoura High long before being set to make the first Bruins start of his career against Wisconsin.
“He’s still a big face here regardless of whether he’s the starter or not, whether he’s been at Cal Poly, Pitt, or UCLA,” Agoura coach and longtime friend Dustin Croick said. “He always finds his way back here. He spends a lot of time here during the offseason around our kids, which is amazing. We throw a lot here and do a lot with the quarterbacks here. He’s always a face. He was at our youth camp, our West Coast throwing sessions, and he’s a staple of our community.”
Dieffenbach is taking over for injured starter Nico Iamaleava, who suffered a knee injury during the second quarter of Saturday’s upset of Oregon.
And now it’ll be Dieffenbach carrying the leadership role for No. 12 UCLA. The 21-year-old senior has also learned the delicate nature of navigating through life’s obstacles on and off the field.
“He’s been ready for this moment, and it’s been a long time coming,” Croick said. “He’s energized about it. He’s gone through a lot of adversity in life, but football has always been that one constant thing and he’s always stay true to who he is.”
Here’s how Dieffenbach is using the struggles he’s overcome as an athlete and team leader to inspire others at Agoura.
Rising above
Dieffenbach’s mother, Heather, battled breast cancer during his sophomore year. As a senior, he dealt with the death of freshman junior varsity player Carter Stone, who was 15 when he died during surgery to repair a shoulder injury in 2022.
There were struggles on the field as well.
After throwing for 2,669 yards and 34 touchdowns as a junior, Dieffenbach hurt his knee early in his senior season. The injury limited Dieffenbach’s ability to hoist the accurate deep passes he was known for. Eight players took snaps at quarterback for the Chargers in 2022. While Dieffenbach attempted to play, Agoura finished 1-9 and missed the playoffs.
With the adversity Dieffenbach faced, his determination and self-belief in his teammates never wavered.
“His toughness and the way he is is why he’s in this position right now,” said Croick, who was a three-year starting quarterback at Agoura and took over the program in 2020.
The 2022 season turned into an allegory of how Dieffenbach showed he could lead, even when he was with someone who carried a different personality.
Dieffenbach took junior quarterback Harrison Novak under his wing. The two personalities couldn’t have been more contrasting. The 6-foot-6 Dieffenbach was known for his intensity and discipline, while the 5-foot-9 Novak had a “surfer’s mindset.”
Working with Dieffenbach led to a transformation in Novak. The season after Agoura finished 1-9, the Chargers turned their season around. Novak threw for 2,608 yards, 26 touchdowns and six interceptions while Agoura finished 8-4.
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“Ty has always been around the program here, impacting our program,” Croick said.
Returning and teaching football
Dieffenbach’s college journey has taken him from Pittsburgh to San Luis Obispo to UCLA, which is off to a 5-0 start and is 3-0 in the Big Ten. With all the travels and stops, the one constant for Dieffenbach has been Agoura.
Every summer, he returns to his alma mater. Dieffenbach throws passes to the high school and middle school athletes and answers any questions they might have.
Dieffenbach has passed guidance along to current Agoura captain running back and linebacker George Hastings.
“He’s been a good role model,” Hastings said. “Just watching him play here was awesome, and he’s shown me how to conduct myself on the field and be a good person.”
Also receiving tutelage from Dieffenbach has been 6-foot-2 freshman quarterback Emerson Andrews.
“He helped me a lot with my footwork,” Andrews said.
Andrews’ father, Dave, is the strength and conditioning coach for UCLA men’s basketball. He has watched Dieffenbach practice at Agoura and takes reps at Spaulding Field in Westwood during days he’d visit his father.
“Seeing the way he works in general and how talented he really is and watching him throw is different than watching anyone else throw,” Andrews said. “You can just tell there’s a different level with how he does things. There’s a lot to take away, like the way he moves and throws on the run. Do everything in the pocket. Overall, he’s a great player.”
From Agoura to Pasadena
Dieffenbach will take the field Saturday against Wisconsin (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) and become the second quarterback from his school to play quarterback at UCLA. Fellow Chargers alum Ryan McCann led UCLA to victories over No. 3-ranked Alabama and No. 3-ranked Michigan in 2000.
Croick will attend with his children, who have known Dieffenbach since they were newborns. It’s a dream come true for Croick, who as a kid watched McCann play at Agoura and UCLA.
The same dream McCann created in Croick can now be said for Dieffenbach and the next generation.
“That’s the kind of impact that (Dieffenbach) is going to have on some kid in elementary school,” Croick said. “As a coach and a community member, getting to see one of our players start at UCLA, given the situation and circumstances, is amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
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