Cal Adds JC Transfer DE Henry Ikahihifo to 2022 Class

He played two seasons at Nevada as a tight end before being moved to defense at College of the Canyons

Cal added a junior college transfer who previous played at Nevada to its 2022 football recruiting class on Friday, announcing that it has signed defensive end Henry Ikahihifo to a letter of intent.

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Ikahihifo played two seasons on the FBS level at Nevada (2019 and 2020), playing tight end for the Wolfpack. He then was moved to defensive end when he left Nevada to attend College of the Canyons in 2021.

Cal will use Ikahihifo on the defensive side, where the Bears need help. Cal's top three outside linebackers from 2021 (Cameron Goode, Marqez Bimage and Kuony Deng) are all gone, hoping to land in the NFL, and defensive ends Luc Bequette (gone after seven years of college ball) and JH Tevis (transferred to Indiana) are also gone.

---Here is how to pronounce his last name: e-KAH-ah-hee-fo---

"Henry has a ton of upside and showed tremendous potential in his first season of college football on the defensive side of the ball last year," Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. "We're excited to see what he will be able to accomplish as he gets more reps on defense. Our strong athletic performance and nutrition programs should also help him to continue to develop rapidly, and combined with his previous college football experience, he should have an opportunity to make an impact quickly."

Ikahihifo was signed by Nevada as a three-star tight end out of Paraclete High School in Lancaster, Calif. BYU, Fresno State and Iowa State were among the other schools that offered him scholarships out of high school, but he did not get any Pac-12 offers.

He played in 20 of 22 possible games at Nevada as a 2019 freshman and 2020 sophomore, including four starts, and contributed seven receptions for 37 yards. The second year did not count against his college eligibility because of the COVID pandemic.

As a defensive end at College of the Canyons, he played in all 10 games in 2021 as a sophomore, contributing 32 tackles, 5.5 sacks,  one forced fumble and four pass breakups for a team that finished 8-3 and reached the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.

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Cover photo by Cal Athletics

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