The community college offensive lineman is joining the Bruins for 2023, adding much-needed depth up front.
A small school transfer has decided to join the Bruins next season.
Former College of the Sequoias offensive lineman Caleb Walker committed to UCLA football on Saturday, he revealed on Twitter. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound prospect had offers from Cal Lutheran and Clarke coming out of El Diamante High School (CA) in 2021, but he elected to go the junior college route to eventually carve out a path to the FBS level.
Walker picked up several offers from other programs this offseason, with Pikeville, Chadron State College, Illinois State, Bryant, San Diego, Northern Colorado, Nevada, East Carolina, Utah State and UMass all getting involved in his recruitment.
According to 247Sports’ Bruin Report Online, Walker took a visit with UCLA on Saturday morning and he plans to enroll at the start of spring quarter in March.
Walker is the 12th transfer to commit to the Bruins since the end of the regular season, joining UPenn defensive end Jake Heimlicher, Cal linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo, Princeton punter Will Powers, Kent State quarterback Collin Schlee, Purdue left guard Spencer Holstege, Army running back Anthony Adkins, Oregon tight end Moliki Matavao, Montana State kicker Blake Glessner, Ball State running back Carson Steele, Bowling Green safety Jordan Anderson and Cal wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant.
UCLA has made a habit of building through the transfer portal over the past few years, but it seemingly slowed its recruitment of junior college and community college prospects as of late. Linebacker Caleb Johnson and edge rusher Mitchell Agude thrived after coming to Westwood in 2020, though, so there is a path to success for players of Walker’s background within the program.
The Bruins’ offensive line lost three starters this offseason – left tackle Raiqwon O’Neal, left guard Atonio Mafi and right guard Jon Gaines II. Walker will likely slide in as a tackle, but it remains to be seen if he will beat out the returning reserves for the starting job.
UCLA only has one offensive line signee in its 2023 recruiting class – three-star Tavake Tuikolovatu.
Click here to check out All Bruins’ 2023 transfer portal tracker
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PHOTO COURTESY OF CALEB WALKER/TWITTER
