All the way from Redwood High School in California, four-star TE Israel Briggs made the cross-country trip for his official visit to Miami this weekend. A multi-sport athlete at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, Briggs moved extremely well at the tight-end position and has played across a plethora of positions in high school. With Miami yet to land a tight end for their 2026 class, Briggs could be the one to change that. Here’s what he told me for CanesInsight following his official visit:
Overall Takeaways from the visit:
“I really liked everything all around when it came to Miami; everything was really picture perfect. [Miami] and LSU are really my top schools right now.”
“[Miami] just really put a plan together, man. All around, everything was just lined up. For my dad especially, just outside of football was really the biggest thing that Miami was offering here.”
On what stood out about Miami:
“I feel they're a good fit, especially scheme wise and the build of my skill set. What more can I ask for?”
“Obviously, the development as a young man that they're gonna do for me. I mean Coach Cristobal, with him right now, just talking about life, it even ball and I feel like that's the biggest thing for where I'm gonna make my decisions from that.”
“The big thing I'll say is the genuineness, that's the best thing that this whole staff has. You can just feel the energy, the positiveness of everyone. No one's really faking energy.”
On his recruiting timeline:
“We're gonna see, but anytime, when I get a signal from God I’ll make that decision.”
(Just came off a visit to LSU, heading to Michigan next week; will be a big battle between the three)
On how the staff wants to use him:
“I like how they use Elijah Arroyo, flexing him out, attaching, really can do all around, attack vertically. I'm more of a route runner, I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm not gonna sit up here saying I'm a good blocker, that's where coach Woodiel will come in.”
On how Miami made him feel comfortable coming from the West Coast:
“The biggest I can say going to different schools like LSU and everything is the diversity, I feel like there's a lot of little different flavors of everything to feel comfortable. So, you know, Miami just society wise, it's just perfect to just fit in.”
On Miami being “Tight End U”:
“It was a tough option because you have to think about it too, where LSU has, tight end history too. But with coach Cristobal and just the university itself and how they got kids out, I feel like that's the best team that you can ask for, and that's why they call it tight end U.”
