Pride of the Valley: Zephaniah Sesay Commits To Fresno State For Football

Ranger linebacker Zephaniah Sesay ’26 has officially taken the next step in his football career, signing with Fresno State to play Division I football. The decision marks a major milestone for Sesay, whose journey has been shaped by family support, dedicated coaching, and years of hard work.

By: Fabian Anguiano

Family is everything, no matter how big you make it.

To Zephaniah Sesay ’26, he said proximity to home played a major role in his decision.

“It’s close to my hometown, my mom wants to come to all my games and so does my little brother, and just family like that,” said Sesay.

The aspects of his game that Sesay is looking to improve while at Fresno State is his “physicality, I’m a little physical right now, but I wanna get more physical and let my game really speak.”

Beyond on-field development, Sesay is looking forward to embracing the full college experience at Fresno State, including building new relationships and competing at a higher level.

Sesay credits his coaches and teammates for helping him reach this point in his career.

“My coaches helped me by just teaching me the fundamentals and everything, my teammates helped me learn how to be a team player and become a family.”

Zephaniah Sesay ’26

Balancing academics and athletics will remain a priority as he transitions to Division I football.

Sesay is looking to balance sports and academics at the same time by, prioritizing academics always. “It’s a student athlete, so I have to put academics before sports,” said Sesay.

Throughout his football journey, one person has remained his biggest influence, his mother. “She kept me pushing through football throughout my whole life. No matter what, she always had me in football,” said Sesay.

Sesay also drew interest from several other programs, including Syracuse, San Diego, Colorado State, and San Jose State, before ultimately choosing Fresno State.

Looking ahead, Coach Curtis Allen says, “He’s a guy who’s gonna rise to the occasion when he’s around better athletes. His athleticism rises, his intensity rises, so he’ll do great in college. All around the field, and Zephaniah, one of our best players on our team. He’s gonna be great.”

Allen highlighted Sesay’s physical presence and competitive drive as defining traits.

“First of all, nobody can block him, and when he hits you, he puts fear in your heart. So I think he developed good. If he hadn’t been injured, he would have developed great. But he’s basically playing basketball right now. Once the basketball season is over, he’ll continue to come out and continue to work on his craft, so he’s gonna be great.”

Coach Curtis Allen

Coach Allen’s favorite part about coaching Sesay was his competitiveness. “He’s a competitor. He doesn’t like the moves. He wants to win. And anytime you are a big-time player, you want to compete in anything. It doesn’t matter. You just want to compete, man. So I love that about him, with that competitive nature that he has, he’s going to be great at the next level, because that’s what it takes to play division one football and beyond.”

“He’s a dog, he’s just gonna come out and rip your head off. He’s a monster man, that’s what he is. He’s a dog on the field. He likes to hit, and when he hits you, he will punish you; that’s what he likes to do.”

Coach Curtis Allen

Coach Allen believes Sesay is a big influence on the team. “When Zeph is on the field, he is the Alpha, period. Not just the alpha for our team, but the alpha for both teams. And everybody knows that,” said Allen.

Having a player like Sesay on the team can motivate everybody.

Coach Allen said, “ If he just continues to work hard, to study, to come in with the same attitude and drive that he wants to be the best, there’s no doubt that he can play at Fresno State and beyond.”

Sesay’s influence extends beyond the field, inspiring teammates and family alike. His younger brother, Zion Mitchell, said watching Sesay reach the college level has motivated him to follow a similar path.

Sesay’s little brother, Zion Mitchell, shared how it felt watching his big brother get to the college level, “I feel good for him, I know he worked hard a lot to practice and other stuff outside of school.”

“I already started football, and he also does basketball, so I also want to do basketball because I kind of want to go to D1 just like him.”

Zion Mitchell

Mitchell has no doubt that his brother will do great things, and is excited to watch his brother play D1 football.

Sesay’s mother, Kayla Alexander, said her son’s love for sports was evident from an early age.

This moment would paint the picture for the rest of Sesay’s life, ““He loved picking up every ball,” said Ms. Alexander. “He played every sport when he was younger and fell in love with football instantly. He’s been playing flag football since he was about three years old.”

Looking ahead, Alexander believes her son’s journey is only beginning.

“I just knew that he would go to college, be a star, be very athletic. I could see it in him, he just already had that drive. It was just something that was in him.”

“I do see him excelling through college, and I do see him going to the draft, said Ms. Alexander. “So Zephaniah has just always loved football, basketball, and track, and he’s just been athletic since birth.”

Alexander said she always believed college football was in Sesay’s future.

“If you love a sport, you know, just continue playing it, working on it, doing everything the best you can, because you could be anyone who can go to college if you try hard.”

Kayla Alexander

Tags: college, Curtis Allen, fabian anguiano, football, fresno state, Gigantea athletics, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood rangers, redwood sports, sports, visalia ca