Brick by brick, ASU is assembling a deep and talented tight end room, and on Wednesday, this process reached a peak as Arizona State lands the highest-rated player at this position since All-American Zach Miller in 2004. 6-5 200-pound Visalia (Calif.) Redwood standout Israel Briggs visited Tempe for the first time last weekend, an experience that led him to commit to the Sun Devils.
“To be honest with you, I didn’t expect to commit before I visited there,” Briggs admitted. “The feeling that I got there was just on the spot, and you know, it just felt too right. And it's a quote that Coach Mohns (ASU tight ends coach Jason Mohns) told me, ‘If you find a college but where if I go to another place and I feel (the initial school) it's too right, and say all the spots are filled up, and now that offer (from the initial school) goes, how am I going to feel? Am I going to lay my head on the pillow and think about it at night?’ And that's what ASU (visit) brought to me. It just felt too right, and I just had to make the move.
“With Coach Mohns, it’s a special feeling because he obviously has three seasons under his belt as a collegiate college coach now, but he was a high school coach for so long and understands a high school athlete going into college. So that's the biggest thing, that he and I can really talk about anything, not just football, and he understands you. He can bring me a lot of support, and that's the biggest thing.”
In nine games for his previous school, Visalia Mt. Whitney, Briggs hauled 44 receptions in nine games for 571 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s ranked No. 14 among all tight ends nationally and No.26 among all 2026 California prospects.
“Coach Mohns likes my athleticism and obviously my height,” Briggs said. “Obviously, I need to learn more about the position. I have the cleanest slate out of everyone in the country, and I have the ability to now learn under him, be coachable, and do everything his way.”
His visit to the school exceeded his expectations of what he would encounter on and off the field at ASU.
“The city, man, it is beautiful,” Briggs described, “but to be honest with you, I just loved the environment. I'm a Cali baby, and the image that I had of Arizona in my head was straight dirt roads and whatnot. And when I went to Tempe, it blew me away, fam. Man, that self-driving Uber (Waymo)…I didn't know y'all was that futuristic.
“And the icing on top was talking to the coaches and just having a real relationship with them. Coach Dillingham is a very big figure that I can look up to and he really helped me mentally, and one of the biggest reasons for this commitment. All the people I met are real chill, and just genuine. They didn’t have that many (two-deep) players hit the portal, and that shows you that once you've bought into that program, it's very family-oriented. They probably didn't have the most talented players, but at the same time, they had the chemistry as brothers, and that’s why they did so well, and look how far they went.”
Briggs is the second 2026 tight end from that state to commit to ASU this week, following Thousand Oaks Hayden Vercher, who was also present at the same Elite Junior Day event held in Tempe this past weekend. The future of that position room at ASU beyond this upcoming season is poised to look very bright, as Kentucky tight end transfer Khamari Anderson will still be on the team, joined by four-star 2024 prospect Jayden Fortier and four-star 2025 prospect who is already on campus, AJ Ia.
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!
