45°
The city of Norwalk celebrated Redd and Pierre-Louis with a ceremony featuring a proclamation by Mayor Harry Rilling.
Both players got their start playing Norwalk Youth Football. Redd attended Columbus Magnet School and Pierre-Louis went to Silvermine Elementary School before both moved on to King Low Heywood Thomas School in Stamford. They helped to lead their football team to Fairchester Athletic Association titles in 2008 and 2009.
The two said they have fond memories of playing in Norwalk from a young age. Through football, they said they learned valuable lessons such as camaraderie and how to face adversity.
“To be able to grow as a man on and off the field, football it instills all of that in you,” Redd said. “I really believe football instills those values in you and really take you as far as you want to go. I love the game, I love what it did for me and my family and I’ll never take it for granted.”
“Football is a sport that can teach you about life, and adversity is something you’re going to face in life,” Pierre-Louis said. “You can’t have success without a little bit of pain in the process, and we’ve both seen our little bit of pain from there and we’ve been able to excel from that.”
Redd, a running back, began his college career at Penn State, where he rushed for 1,188 yards in 2011, the third highest in the Big Ten Conference. He was named the 2011 Connecticut Player of the year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. In 2012 he transferred to the University of Southern California, where he led the team in rushing yardage.
Pierre-Louis, a linebacker, attended Boston College, where he was second on the team in tackles his freshman year. He was named the Walter Camp 2013 Connecticut Player of the Year. Against Virginia Tech in his senior year, he returned an interception for a touchdown in a game that helped turn Boston College’s season around and led to his being named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week.
Redd said that so far he has spoken with the San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Giants, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills. Pierre-Louis has spoken with the Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.
“Silas and Kevin have both excelled on the football field and in the classroom,” Rilling said. “These are young men of great influence, ability and character. They are great role models for our youth for the way that they carry themselves both on and off the football field.”
A third Norwalk native, DJ Morrell, is also entering the NFL Draft. An offensive tackle, Morrell attended Norwalk High School before moving on to Dean Junior College and Old Dominion University.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
