EXCLUSIVE: 2026 TE Israel Briggs Talks Recent Visit to UCLA

UCLA recently offered one of the top tight ends in the class of 2026 during his visit for the Bruins' season finale.

Mt. Whitney's Israel Briggs runs against Mission Oak in non-league high school football on Friday, September 13, 2024. | Ron Holman / Visalia Times-Delta / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

UCLA football had the benefit of concluding its season with back-to-back home games, which allowed the program to host some late-season visits.

One of those was class of 2026 tight end Israel Briggs, who visited the Rose Bowl for UCLA's season finale against Fresno State last Saturday.

Briggs is one of the best tight ends in his class, a four-star from Visalia, California, where he plays for Mt. Whitney High School. He is ranked the No. 10 class of 2026 prospect in California and the No. 5 tight end in his class, per 247Sports.

Bruins tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel offered Briggs on his visit to UCLA, a visit he described as "amazing."

"I had never been to the Rose Bowl, so it was like a shell shock moment for a little bit," Briggs told me. "Then we went into the lounge, and I didn't even expect it to be that nice. The lounge, that was probably the best lounge I've ever been to, out of all colleges I've been to. Like Miami [FL] and Cal. That was probably the best one.

"And Coach Jerry just came in, just went to holler at me, and I didn't even know I was going to get the offer right then and there. Then he surprised me."

Briggs said that Neuheisel is a "genuine guy."

"Me and his relationship, it's not always about football," Briggs said. "He's always checking up on me and my dad, always sending us letters. That's always a good thing with me, and that's the biggest thing with this recruiting process for me is: Is everything real that they say? And with him, I feel like everything is real that comes out of his mouth."

The Bruins coaching staff, as a whole, carries an energy that Briggs enjoys.

"They have that family vibe with them," Briggs said. "It's not always about football. They're always joking around. ... I just love the vibe down there at UCLA."

Briggs has also received offers from schools like Alabama, Auburn, Cal, Florida, Florida State, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Miami (FL) and Texas A&M, to just name some of many.

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