How Byrnes football star Miquel Dingle Jr. turned speed, getting overlooked into Texas Tech commitment
On the field, Byrnes linebacker and Texas Tech commit Miquel Dingle Jr. looks like he was crafted in a football factory to play defense in today's game.
A 6-foot-2, 220-pound second-level defender who can play inside and outside linebacker, drop back into man and zone coverage, who isn't afraid to plug the gap in the run game and is so fast he posted the best 110-meter hurdles time in the state this year – and fifth-best in the nation.
"He's got a rare combination of extreme athleticism, intensity, and a love of contact. So when you put all that together, you have a dangerous weapon," said Byrnes coach Reggie Shaw.
Dingle is No. 9 in the 864Huddle's Dandy Dozen, a collection of the top Class of 2023 football prospects in the Upstate.
TWO SPORT STAR: How Byrnes' Miquel Dingle Jr. became one of nation's top high school 110-meter hurdle sprinters
MEET THE DANDY DOZEN: The Upstate's top college football prospects for the Class of 2023
The three-star prospect - ranked No. 16 in South Carolina and the No. 78 linebacker by the 247Sports Composite - felt like he was under-recruited.
"The entire time I was really flustered, I didn't understand why I wasn't being recruited. I would always go on Twitter and be like, dang, he's getting this offer instead of me and it started to make me feel as though I wasn't adequate. I started to question myself," Dingle said. "I was just kind of confused, because I was just like, 'What else do I have to do? What else do I have to do to make my dream come true?'"
But then he started to focus on the things he could control.
"Through this process, I learned there's nothing that you can do besides be the best you. Go out there put good reps down on film and get good grades. That's all I could do. Then the rest is in God's hands," Dingle said.
"It was heartbreaking to see, because that kid lives for football. He went through some ups and downs, just trying to figure out how to deal with adversity and disappointment and I think he grew from it and matured at a level that most kids his age don't have to," Shaw said.
Dingle Jr., son of former South Carolina running back Miquel "Mike" Dingle Sr., didn't play varsity football until his junior year, after a broken foot sidelined him his entire sophomore season.
"You have to have film to get recruited, sure the size and speed definitely gets you noticed but they want to see you on film, and his film was very limited so it put him a year behind in his recruiting," Shaw said.
Even during his junior season he shifted from outside linebacker to the inside mid-season.
"Pretty much the whole year was me trying to learn the different positions of linebacker, because for me – who hadn't played varsity football yet – it was a lot different from Little League," Dingle said. "So, I got why I was initially under-recruited because I didn't have the film until last season. But by the end of the season, I felt the film that I put out and my size and speed, that in itself is something dangerous."
Eventually, schools started to notice as Dingle had 88 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Dingle's first offer came from UNC-Charlotte in late April, with West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Marshall all contacting the Rebel linebacker. But when Texas Tech came knocking with an offer and official visit, he knew there was something special about the Red Raiders.
"I've talked to a lot of coaches throughout the process and I would say that every single coach at Tech that I talked to, I could tell were genuine," Dingle said. "They were genuinely curious about me, they're genuinely asking me questions and it was just one of those things where it felt like you can't fake this ... everything was perfect."
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Miquel Dingle: South Carolina football player's son is a speedy LB
