By Jerry Ratcliffe
One day after signing former Missouri starting quarterback Beau Pribula, Virginia’s football program found him a new target.
The Cavaliers hauled in former UCLA and Notre Dame wide receiver Rico Flores Jr., a 6-foot-2, 205-pound pass-catching threat. Flores spent the past two seasons at UCLA after transferring to the Bruins from Notre Dame.
A 4-star recruit out of Folsom H.S. in North Highlands, Calif., Flores signed with the Irish and had a solid freshman season in 2023, making 27 catches for 329 yards (14.5 ypc) and 1 touchdown, over 12 games (2 starts). That first season with Notre Dame, he recorded 404 snaps for a 67.5 PFF grade.
Flores entered the portal after one season and transferred closer to home at UCLA and played in the first four games of the season before suffering a season-ending ACL injury, which caused him to miss the last eight games of the ‘24 campaign. Still, he had 187 snaps and caught 12 passes for 187 yards (15.1) and a touchdown.
Coming off the ACL in 2025, Flores started 8 of 9 games for UCLA and had 26 receptions for 274 yards (10.5). He had 410 snaps, so 16 starts in 24 games for his career.
Things didn’t click the way Flores hoped they would during his two seasons with the Bruins, who experienced two very disappointing seasons, going 5-7 overall (3-6 in the Big 10) in 2024 and 3-9 (3-6) in 2025.
Flores will help shore up a UVA receiver room that lost Trell Harris (Oklahoma) to the portal along with Kameron Courtney and Eli Wood, in addition to Cam Ross (expired eligibility).
