Cal will be the fourth college for Rico Walker, who was a junior this past season at Purdue
Purdue transfer tight end Rico Walker, who was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, has committed to Cal, according to 247Sports, On3 Sports and CBS Sports. Walker played in 10 of Purdue’s 12 games this past season as a junior, with one start, and he caught nine passes for 100 yards and no touchdowns.
Purdue went 2-10 this past season, including 0-9 in the Big Ten.Walker caught 9 passes for 100 yards this year. He's a former four-star recruit who's made career stops at Auburn and Maryland.Walker played in five games for Auburn in 2024 as a sophomore, but did not have any catches. He appeared in eight games as a freshman at Maryland in 2023, when he had four receptions for 27 yards. Walker is the second tight end Cal has brought in through the transfer portal this year, joining New Mexico transfer tight end Dorian Thomas, who was a first-team all-Mountain West selection in 2025. Walker is from Hickory, North Carolina, and he was a four-star prospect coming out oif Hickory High School. He had offers from Georgia, Texas, Miami, Tennessee, Michigan, Florida, Clemson, Penn State, Louisville, Auburn, Nebraska, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Michigan State and North Carolina among others. Walker originally committed to North Carolina before changing his mind and signing with Maryland. The tight end was a vital position under Bryan Harsin, who was Cal’s offensive coordinator in 2025. He often used two and three tight ends at a time. It’s unclear how new Cal offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville will use the tight ends. He comes from an NFL background, so is apt to use an NFL approach offensively. Cal is trying to surround quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele with a lot of talented targets. Cal has added three wide receivers through the transfer portal in recent days, and all three seem capable of getting significant playing time.Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Purdue's Academic Success building transforms downtown Indy's skyline- I'm the In Your Community reporter for Downtown Indy.
Read more »
Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau lead UCLA to stunning upset of No. 4 PurdueDonovan Dent played his best game as a Bruin and Tyler Bilodeau knocked down the game winner, helping UCLA upset No. 4 Purdue Tuesday night.
Read more »
5 Thoughts From Purdue's 69-67 Loss to UCLAFor the first time in Big Ten play, Purdue stubbed its toe. The Boilermakers dropped a heart-breaker to UCLA in Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday night.
Read more »
UCLA's Cronin blasts Big Ten scheduling after win vs. PurdueUCLA's upset of No. 4 Purdue seemed to do little to ease Mick Cronin's wrath over the Big Ten's scheduling, with the Bruins coach saying, 'I don't think they care about basketball.'
Read more »
UCLA pulls off big upset of No. 4 PurdueDonovan Dent had a double-double and Tyler Bilodeau hit a clutch three-pointer as the Bruins upset No. 4 Purdue.
Read more »
Donovan Dent, Tyler Bilodeau help UCLA stun No. 4 PurdueDent has 23 points and 13 assists and Bilodeau hits a go-ahead 3-pointer with eight seconds left, as the Bruins rally for a 69-67 win that snaps the Boilermakers’ nine-game winning streak.
Read more »