College exposure.
That’s one of the goals new Redwood High School football coach Curtis Allen wants to establish for his players.
Allen organized the first annual Redwood College Showcase on May 1, inviting double-digit NCAA Division I programs to get a first-hand look at his team, Tulare Union and Frontier-Bakersfield.
Coaches from 10 colleges attended the two-hour showcase, which included individual players’ drills and a 7-on-7 passing session at Mineral King Bowl.
Fresno State sent four coaches, including new offensive coordinator Josh Davis. Coaches from Miami, Cal Poly, Oregon State, Nevada, Tennessee, Sacramento State and a couple others were also in attendance.
Allen built a network with college coaches during his tenures as the College of the Sequoias football and track and field head coaches. He was also previously a track and field assistant at UCLA and also recruited and coached 2024 Olympic track gold medalist Quincy Hall.
“For us, the whole goal is about getting kids exposure,” Allen said. “That’s what I do. It’s not about trying to be selfish. It’s about getting all kids exposure in this valley, especially in our area. Next year, we want to make sure we have all our Visalia schools and Tulare schools, the Hanfords and Lemoores out here with us. We just have to get it done.”
Redwood’s Israel Briggs was the marquee attraction.
Briggs, who will be a senior next fall, is rated by the recruiting website 247sports.com as a four-star prospect. He is ranked as the No. 7 tight end recruit in the nation for the Class of 2026.
Against his own team, Briggs had a couple of highlight-worthy touchdown catches during the 7-on-7 session.
Briggs, who recently de-committed from Arizona State, has a reported 26 scholarship offers, including a couple from SEC powerhouses Alabama and LSU.
Although the spotlight was on him, Briggs was more appreciative of his teammates and friends having an opportunity to play football in front of college coaches.
“The biggest thing that I’m taking away from this is having other kids’ looks at the end of the day,” Briggs said. “Because this is a city where Miami and people from Tennessee do not come to or think about. What I’m taking away from that is, of course they’re coming to see me, I’m very grateful for that, but to get kids looks, that means even more to me.”
Talent was all over the field.
Tulare Union’s Demaje Riley and Brayden Stevenson, both three-star recruits, also had the chance to display their talent and athleticism.
Riley is verbally committed to UCLA. Stevenson has orally committed to Nevada.
“It feels good,” Riley said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity to have this.”
Frontier also had a couple of highly recruited talents in three-star receivers Kobie Watson and Malcom Watkins, who got to show off their football skills in front of college coaches in Visalia.
The Frontier duo has a combined 15 offers − nine for Watkins and six for Watson.
“This is what I do,” Allen said. “When I was at COS, we put out probably 20, 25 guys a year to Division I, Division I-AA, Division II.”
Playing for a coach who has a track record of sending players to the next level has already prompted a few notable player transfers to Redwood.
Former Hanford standout Zephaniah Sesay, a linebacker, transferred over to Redwood in the offseason along with Briggs and former Golden West starting nose guard Ziggie Utumapu.
Sesay is also a three-star prospect.
“It just shows you coach Allen’s legacy,” Briggs said. “Everyone wants to say, ‘We’re recruiting. We’re doing this.’ No. It’s just the fact that, to be honest, we want to be great, and be coached by a great coach. To be honest with you, without him, none of this would have happened.”
What’s Allen’s take on the transfers?
“I think kids just want an opportunity,” Allen said. “That’s what we’re doing here. I’m not going out recruiting anybody. I would never do that. If you live in the Redwood district and you here, you could play. That’s what we do. I’m not going to go out chasing, man, and I’m not being cocky. We put, I put over 300-something guys in Division I, Division I-AA, Division II, Olympic gold medalists and stuff like that. Those kids, they see that, and they find somebody who can help them. It doesn’t matter if a kid goes to Union, Mt. Whitney, Golden West, I’m still going to help those kids.”
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