adversity

Ty Dieffenbach, a former Cal Poly and Pittsburgh signal caller, wasn’t well known among UCLA and national college football fans until last week.

Dieffenbach has been patiently waiting for his moment since he made the switch from wide receiver to quarterback as a sophomore at Agoura High.

And like subbing in to play quarterback at Autzen Stadium and leading UCLA to the biggest win of the season thus far, his football journey has never been a layup. But that’s what makes Dieffenbach’s first Football Bowl Subdivision start against Wisconsin Saturday at the Rose Bowl so special.

Dieffenbach was a wiry 6-foot-3 receiver preparing for his sophomore season in 2020 when coach Dustin Croick took over the Agoura football program.

Ty Dieffenbach switched from playing receiver to quarterback at Agoura High.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Teams had to wipe down the balls after using them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once players were cleared to return to practice after a long break, Dieffenbach routinely ran a route, caught a pass and threw the ball back to the start of the drill.

Dieffenbach was throwing deep passes with perfect spiral in front of Croick, who lacked a starting quarterback.

Dieffenbach agreed to switch to quarterback and committed to intense training that move required.

Croick and Dieffenbach worked via Zoom to study schemes, installations and the skills it took to play under center. What would have been a grueling process for most, was an escape for Dieffenbach, who was struggling through the most adverse time in his life — his mother’s bout with breast cancer.

“He’s a sophomore. His mom was just diagnosed with breast cancer. So you have a kid that’s going through that, and the quarterback stuff was his outlet, going through the hardest thing that he’s been through off the field and something super personal,” Croick said. “Football was his medicine at that time, where it wasn’t as serious as what he was going through.”

Through it all, Dieffenbach learned how to be a quarterback and a leader. After going 7-3 and breaking the school’s single season touchdown passing record Croick once held, all of the team’s star players graduated.

And Dieffenbach, who was racking up college offers, was left with a depleted roster and a grim senior season outlook. But while top-tier high school programs tried to lure him away, it was never a question.

It was always Agoura.

“He’s getting calls left and right from other schools to transfer to big time schools that are in our area. And I remember the conversation with his dad and him. I told him if you’re going to leave, you’re still my boy. I still love you, and I get it,” Croick said. “And he’s like, absolutely not. I would never leave, because I’m Agoura. I’m A-Town, and I’m here. And to be honest, from my perspective, back then he should have left. But that’s the type of kid he is.”

Despite a 1-9 record and a knee injury sustained in Week 1 that kept him out of the rest of the season, Dieffenbach’s loyalty never wavered, and the Calabasas product was rewarded with a late offer from Pittsburgh, making him one of the first Power Four football players out of Agoura in more than a decade, Croick said.

After not seeing any action as a true freshman, he was frustrated by the lack of playing time but stayed the course, working to see the field the following season. However, after offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. was fired following a 3-9 season, his outlook at Pitt went from bad to worse.

New offensive coordinator Kade Bell wanted Dieffenbach to make another position switch, this time from quarterback to tight end.

UCLA quarterback Ty Dieffenbach helped lead the Bruins to a win at Oregon on Oct. 10.

(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)

Dieffenbach’s loyalty was tested a second time.

Take a leap of faith and leave Pitt after two seasons without playing, or stay at a program and a school where he felt comfortable.

“It was very hard for him to leave Pitt because he didn’t want to. He felt good there. He had really good friends there. But you can’t control a new offensive coordinator. You can’t control them wanting to do a position change or anything like that,” Croick said. “He just believed in himself to play quarterback. He said, ‘I want a shot at playing quarterback. If I don’t ever do that, I won’t know, so I need to do it.’”

Dieffenbach transferred to Cal Poly. After winning the starting job during preseason camp, he finally had the chance to see the field at the college level.

But injuries altered his season, consistently playing at less than 100%, missing time and never really finding a groove.

Cal Poly quarterback Ty Dieffenbach throws a pass against Utah on Sept. 6, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

(Chris Gardner / Getty Images)

“He got hit in the back, and there were some issues there, bruising and pain, and that was a lot to have to fight through,” former Cal Poly head coach Paul Wulff said. “When you have an injury and you’re playing and you’re sore, it affects you. It’s not that easy, so he had to overcome that, which was hard for him. But he kept plugging away at it, and he finally got a little bit better and got a little more confident, and the pain wasn’t as much, but it lingered all season for him.”

And after a 4-8 season, Wulff left Cal Poly and Dieffenbach faced another crossroads.

It was not until new UCLA coach Chesney and offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy took over the Bruins that a new opportunity arose. He decided to join the UCLA roster with no guarantee he would earn snaps at a school with an established starter and a returning backup.

He earned the respect of his UCLA coaches and teammates, who were not surprised by how Dieffenbach responded when Nico Iamaleava was injured during a top 25 game at Oregon.

After leading the Bruins to their first win at Autzen Stadium since 2004, Dieffenbach earned the right to replace injured Iamaleava in the starting lineup.

“He’s been able to withstand some difficult times of not playing at Pitt or getting injured at Cal Poly. At the end of the day, he believes in himself,” Croick said. “Even at Pitt, I told him you’re going to get your shot. You just got to stay locked in. He never wavered. If you go to his time at Pitt, it was super important for where he is right now.”

Mike McDaniel isn’t panicking.

But the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator knows his unit must show urgency and improvement Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders after a rude wake-up call in the season opener.

“You have a lot of visions coming to a new team and working on something for months. The vision never looked like that,” McDaniel said of the Chargers’ 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. “That’s the beautiful thing about football; like life, time spent forecasting [and] visualizing things going a certain way … no one cares about that.

“So, it was a case of humble pie.”

Quarterback Justin Herbert never looked fully comfortable. He completed 17 of 27 passes with 207 yards, one touchdown and one back-breaking interception.

The time-of-possession disparity also played a big role in the loss, with the Cardinals controlling the ball roughly 15 minutes longer.

Herbert knows that can’t happen again.

“It’s another opportunity for us to go play football, to be better, and to put our brand of work out there,” Herbert said. “I don’t think we were happy or content with [the] Week 1 effort. So, we’re doing everything we can to fix it and be better.”

Facing a Maxx Crosby-led Raiders defense that held McDaniel’s former team, the Miami Dolphins, to 13 points in Week 1, the Chargers are focusing on often-overlooked aspects, such as understanding assignments, communicating more clearly, cleaning up penalties and operating as a collective.

“These are elementary things,” McDaniel said.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert celebrates with coach Jim Harbaugh, center, and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel after a touchdown against the Cardinals on Sept. 13.

(Harry How / Getty Images)

The offense will need more production from several players, especially if wideout Ladd McConkey, who is questionable to play with a rib injury, is unavailable.

Wide receivers Quentin Johnston and Tre’ Harris, who each saw six targets in Week 1, should see increased involvement, as should speedy rookie Brenen Thompson.

“He’s been really good,” coach Jim Harbaugh said of Thompson. “Great opportunity for him [and a] great challenge.”

Tight end Oronde Gadsden II is another player who could play a key role in a revitalized passing attack.

“I would expect [Gadsden] to be more involved outside of an unforeseen situation where the game and the parameters with which you’re playing change, in which case we’ll address that,” McDaniel said.

Perhaps the most important player to watch Sunday will be Omarion Hampton. The second-year running back had just 12 carries for 43 yards and one touchdown while also losing a fumble against the Cardinals.

“Really just flush [Week 1],” Hampton said about the Chargers’ approach to facing the Raiders. “[And] look at all the stuff we can work on. Come back, regroup as a team, talk about what we need to do to move forward and make it not happen again.

“We all think the same thing … urgent to get how we want to play. That’s really the main thing going on in the locker room.”

Changes also will be apparent on the offensive line.

Trey Pipkins III (knee) won’t play against the Raiders, ending the rotation at left guard, at least for now. And while the team would rather be at full strength, Kayode Awosika — who played well against the Cardinals — will get a chance to prove himself without sharing snaps.

Nonetheless, as McDaniel emphasized, talk of expectations and adjustments don’t matter — it’s what shows up on film that does.

Good thing the Chargers’ new play-caller craves adversity.

“It’s been my favorite week of my employment here,” McDaniel said. “Because — I know [through] my experience in this league — do not measure anything beyond how a group of people handles adversity in the National Football League.

“It’s not if, it’s when.”