:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52775341/usa_today_9706523.0.jpg)
Tonight, now-former Indiana QB Zander Diamont joined The Tall Trio on IU radio station WIUX for an entertaining two-plus hours of conversation. Diamont is still on campus for one more semester, and he revealed some interesting post-football plans. The full interview, in case you missed it, can be found here.
Here’s our tweetcap of his radio appearance:
Now that football’s over, he’s working at Kilroy’s:
Apparently now that his #iufb career is over, Zander Diamont is working at Kilroy's. He just started: "That's been dope."
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 16, 2017
That's cool. Would be cooler if he was working at the Vid. https://t.co/cbHIUV5txB
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerHT) January 16, 2017
He opened up a little about his relationship with former IU head coach Kevin Wilson:
Diamont: "Coach Wilson and I butted heads for a long time...but we got to a point where we realized so many of our similarities." #iufb
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 16, 2017
Diamont, on relationship with Wilson: "He respected the way I played and I respected the way he came to work." #iufb
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 16, 2017
And he also downplayed his earlier retirement comments:
Meanwhile, Diamont talking about his retirement for health reasons: "That was totally blown out of proportion." #iufb
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 17, 2017
Zander also talked about the Wild Bacon package with Tyler Natee, and revealed that this wasn’t its original name.
BREAKING: The "Wild Bacon" package was actually called "The Z Package" #iufb
— Sam Beishuizen (@Sam_Beishuizen) January 16, 2017
Diamont says Tyler Natee is legitimately very athletic: "He's 280 pounds and can put his legs behind his head." #iufb
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 16, 2017
He threw some shade up to the team in East Lansing:
"I think we were the catalyst for that" Zander Diamont says of Michigan State's spiral this season. #iufb
— Sam Beishuizen (@Sam_Beishuizen) January 17, 2017
And he’s a fan of #CHAOSTEAM and our site’s Twitter logo:
Zander Diamont likes IU being called "chaos team" @crimsonquarry
— Sam Beishuizen (@Sam_Beishuizen) January 17, 2017
.@zanderdiamont okay, it's yours again, but basketball plays at penn state on saturday so CJ's staying ready on the desktop
— CRIMSON QUARRY (@crimsonquarry) January 16, 2017
In addition, Diamont echoed this website’s previously expressed sentiment that Indiana should serve alcohol at games:
Diamont on the crowd: "Serving alcohol at the games would be a good start. What year is this? Come on. Let's start serving alcohol." #iufb
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 17, 2017
IU fans weren’t the only ones enjoying the show - his former teammates got a kick out of it too. Richard Lagow was listening in:
Bro zander is hilarious
— Richard Lagow (@RichardLagow) January 16, 2017
Diamont also had some funny anecdotes about Lagow:
Zander Diamont on Richard Lagow's last name: "I still don't know to this day how we pronounce it."
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerHT) January 17, 2017
Diamont on Lagow: "It was fun mentoring him, even though he's older than me. He's like 38."
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerHT) January 17, 2017
Diamont talking about Richard Lagow. Says the two built a "super great quarterback-room environment." #iufb
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) January 17, 2017
And even before Tom Crean’s radio show, people at the Holiday Inn were talking about Zander:
I'm at the Holiday Inn for the Tom Crean coaches show, but the buzz around the building is all about Zander Diamont on @wiux pic.twitter.com/XKNa9bFtbt
— Josh Margolis (@MargolisNews) January 16, 2017
Speaking of which, Zander is a fan of Crean:
Diamont: "Tom Crean's my boy. I love Tom." #iufb #iubb
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 17, 2017
Diamont, on Crean: "I think he's a great coach and anybody who has something to say about that doesn't know anything about sports." #iubb
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 17, 2017
IU Defensive end Joe Belden also came on the show and told some more stories about Diamont:
Joe Belden telling a story about Diamont giving a homeless woman his pizza in San Francisco. "This dude's gonna go far."
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) January 17, 2017
Joe Belden says Diamont was planning the Conor McGregor strut for weeks. "Don't let this man say it wasn't planned."
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerHT) January 17, 2017
Here’s the strut, in case you forgot:
YOU: hey can we get some thoughts on the basketball game at halftime
— CRIMSON QUARRY (@crimsonquarry) December 29, 2016
US: pic.twitter.com/UO0nrsgkp3
Diamont also recalled getting blown off by Matt Leinart as a kid:
Oh god this is great. Diamont relays story of Matt Leinart ignoring him as a little kid.
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerHT) January 17, 2017
Diamont: "I don't want Matt Leinart's autograph at all." Diamont says he would never blow off a little kid asking for autograph.
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerHT) January 17, 2017
Diamont also revealed that he got into a fight with IU safety Chase Dutra once at practice:
Diamont says he and Chase Dutra had the best fight in practice of anyone during his time at IU. #iufb
— Alex McCarthy (@akmccarthy) January 17, 2017
Diamont says he was caught off guard as Dutra started wailing on him. "Dutra's no joke. Dutra can get down. He's had my back many times."
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerHT) January 17, 2017
Finally, Zander explained how he wanted IU fans to remember him:
How does Diamont want to be remembered? "I just want to be known as someone who played hard always." #iufb
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) January 17, 2017
Diamont says he wants to write a book when he's done with school. "I want to be a renaissance man."
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerHT) January 17, 2017
Afterwards, the reviews were in:
The @zanderdiamont interview was one of the best sports interviews I've ever heard in my young life. I'm proud to be a fellow student
— Andrew (@IUAndrew) January 17, 2017
At the end, the hosts left the door open to future appearances:
Big thanks to @zanderdiamont and @_ovojb for joining The Tall Trio today. Honestly, that was fun. Open invite back whenever. #iufb
— Sam Beishuizen (@Sam_Beishuizen) January 17, 2017
So while Zander is no longer on the team, he seems intent on making his final months count in Bloomington, and the radio interview gave some good insight into his life both on and off the gridiron.