All Roads Lead to Redwood: Quarterback Nash McElree

From playing football in Aledo, Texas, to now being the starting quarterback for the Rangers, Nash McElree’s ’27, journey has been an interesting one. McElree, his father, Jess McElree, Redwood offensive coordinator Kenny Jackson, and head coach Curtis Allen look over his talents and journey.

By Fabian Anguiano

The McElree family moved to Texas after Covid 19. Years later, the family decided it was time to come back home as his father, Jess McElree, has a construction job in Visalia.

Before transferring to Redwood, McElree was the quarterback for Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas.

In McElree’s two years playing for the Bearcats, he would rack up a total of 1,331 passing yards for sixteen touchdowns and a total of 319 rushing yards for three touchdowns.

When McElree first found out that he and his family were going to move back to Visalia, he didn’t believe it was “ Real. At first I didn’t think it was actually going to happen, then it happened. It was crazy. Now we’re here,” said McElree.

 Moving back to a completely different state wasn’t that bad for McElree. When McElree moved to Texas for the first time, it was the worst for him as he didn’t know anyone over there. While in Visalia, he knew all his friends; he also has cousins in Visalia.

McElree’s past coaches from Texas have shaped him into the player he is today by helping him a good amount with his reads, his motion, dealing with pressure from the defense, and dissecting coverages in film.

One thing McElree noticed as soon as he stepped onto Redwood’s practice field was the size of the players. He also noticed the great players and the great coaches.

When McElree came back, he was already familiar with players on the team, “I knew some of them from my old football teams, and then all the other ones that I haven’t met yet were also very good to me.”

McElree competed against Michael Garcia ’27, for the starting job; this isn’t McElree’s first rodeo in competing for a starting position, “I’ve been in QB battles before in my last schools, and you just got to keep your head down and keep grinding. Don’t let anyone get into your head and just make everyone like you and be a good leader for the team,” said McElree.

McElree wasn’t with Redwood for the offseason, but he still worked his tail off and believes he is in the best shape of his life.

When McElree found out he was going to be the starting quarterback, he was, “Excited for sure. We split reps for the first three weeks. I knew we were gonna have a good team, and whether it was me or Michael, we were gonna be good no matter what, but I was definitely excited to just be the 1st string guy and to just be the leader for the team.”

So far, McElree doesn’t believe he has done his best. He hasn’t played bad; he hasn’t played great. Moving forward, McElree believes that he needs to play better.

McElree’s goal for the team for the rest of the season is, “We want to win it all; we have the team. This is a special team that we have right now; we have all the players and the ability to do it. We just got to come together and win every week,” said McElree.

McElree has plans to play in college as he has two offers at the moment and is unsure where he wants to go.

When the family found out they were going to move back to Visalia, Mr. McElree, Nash’s father, said it was, “Weird at first because we were gone for a lot of years, I think, maybe 6 years. We have deep roots here, and the community’s just been so welcoming. We’ve been able to see old friends, and we’ve got a lot of families still here. So it’s really been a heartfelt welcome.”

With Mr. McElree being born and raised in Visalia, he already knew the storied history of Redwood, and with him knowing the new coaches who came in were doing a great job, he knew it was going to be a high level of football in the Central Valley.

Mr. McElree believed he was going to see a drop in play when he returned to the Central Valley, but he is very impressed with the level of football that has been played so far.

The Level of Texas high school football has shaped McElree into the player he is today, “Texas football is its own animal; it’s super important to the communities there. I think in 7th grade, Nash tried out against 7 quarterbacks, so he’s been through the gauntlet and seen a really high level of football, and I feel like God has put Nash through all that for this moment to come back here.”

Mr. McElree believes that Redwood has been very welcoming to Nash, as he has old friends alongside him; he hasn’t been in a situation where he’s on campus and he doesn’t know anybody. 

With Nash working his way from being the third string to the first string, Mr. McElree believes Nash’s past experiences throughout his young career have helped him achieve that.

As a father, Mr. McElree has been proud to see Nash’s ability to adapt to a new system and to be there for his teammates.

McElree has grown not only as a player, but as a person, “I’m proud of Nash to watch him grow in that part of his life, you know, his walk with the Lord and his ability to step into a leadership role; oftentimes, that’s more important than the wins and the losses and the success on the field,” said Mr. McElree.

Mr.McElree wants to see, “How good this team can be from an outsider looking in as a fan, I just sit back, and I just see a bunch of great pieces. Great athletes, great coaches, and to me, it seems like it’s the start of something pretty special. That whole scenario will play out because I think that the sky’s the limit as the team just keeps improving every week,” said McElree.

Redwood offensive coordinator Kenny Jackson’s first impression of McElree was, “Wow, this is a big, athletic, talented-looking kid. I had seen his film, so I knew he had ability, but seeing him in person, his size and athleticism really stood out. My initial thought was that I hoped he was as good on the field as he looked on tape.”

Even though McElree was coming from a whole different state, the Rangers welcomed him as if he had already been in the program. When the players found out McElree was coming back home, they were very excited. The transition was very natural.

To help McElree adjust to the offense, Jackson spent extra time with him on the phone going over basic concepts, terminology, reads, and expectations within their offense. They wanted McElree to not only understand what they are asking him to do, but why they are doing it.

McElree would adjust quickly to the offense, “He came from an offense in Texas that did some things that were very similar to what we do. Because of that, a lot of the concepts were already familiar to him. In many cases, he simply had to learn our terminology and adjust to the way we called things. He already understood the basic concepts and had a good understanding of how to make both pre-snap and post-snap reads,” said Jackson.

Jackson believes McElree’s pre-season went very well as he only threw one interception. This impressed Jackson, as it showed that although he wasn’t fully comfortable with the offense yet, he had the football IQ and discipline to protect the football and make good decisions.`

Some of McElree’s biggest strengths are his football IQ, poise, and leadership skills.

One area Jackson believes McElree can improve in is, “ His body language during practice. I have always viewed Nash as a gamer, someone who performs at a high level when the lights come on. As he continues to develop in the starting quarterback role, I want to see him bring that same level of focus and energy to everyday drills and competitive periods in practice. Improving in that area will only help him continue to grow as a leader.”

The team is very fortunate to have two very talented quarterbacks in their program. The decision did not come down to one quarterback being good and the other not being good enough; Nash earned the starting position based on the coaches’ overall evaluation of his skill set. His size and athletic ability give him an additional layer, particularly in his ability to extend plays, keep the play alive, and make plays on his feet.

Jackson’s goal for McElree for the rest of the season is for him to, “Continue growing within our offense and becoming more consistent as a leader. I want him to continue stepping up, demanding excellence from himself and from the offense, and making good decisions with the football.”

Jackson added to this, “I want him to continue taking care of the football, making the right decisions, and putting our team in the best position to win. Ultimately, our goal is to have Nash help lead this team to a championship.”

Head coach Curtis Allen believes that the transition for McElree was good for both him and the team, as he is a Visalia native.

McElree showed dedication to learning the playbook, studing a lot of questions, and working hard to get in shape.

McElree has a presence about him that is contagious, and the team believes in his ability.

Allen believes McElree is on a great trajectory, with the knowledge that the whole team wants from him on an everyday basis.

Allen’s goal for McElree is for him to stay healthy; he will continue to learn and understand the playbook and will ultimately lead Redwood to a championship.

Tags: football, gigantea, Gigantea athletics, Nash McElree, quarterback, Redwood, redwood athletes, redwood athletics, redwood football, visalia ca