Cal Sports Report

Cal TE/LB Nate Rutchena Will Enter Transfer Portal

Rutchena was an inside linebacker his first three years at Cal and was a tight end this season

Jake Curtis

Cal linebacker Nate Rutchena makes a tackle during the Independence Bowl last season
Cal linebacker Nate Rutchena makes a tackle during the Independence Bowl last season / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
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Nate Rutchena, who started four games at linebacker over the previous three seasons before being swiched to tight end for this season, announced on social media on Monday evening that he will enter the transfer portal.

Rutchena played in 24 games during his four seasons at Cal. In his first three seasons he played inside linebacker.

He played in seven games and made three starts as a freshman in 2021, which was his best season. He had three interceptions that season and recorded 11 tackles against Stanford, nine tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against UCLA and eight tackles against Arizona.

Rutchena played in all 12 games in 2022, all off the bench, and twice had four tackles in a game that season.

Rutchena played in five games in 2023 and started one game, the Independence Bowl. He had a career-high five tackles in the win over Washington State that season.

In the spring following the 2023 season, Rutchena was switched to tight end. He played in two games this season and did not have any receptions.

Rutchena is a Bay Area product who is from Danville, California.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

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.

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