Standout Penn senior wide receiver Jared Richardson has committed to Duke University for his final year of collegiate eligibility, he announced via Instagram on Monday.
Richardson entered the NCAA transfer portal following the 2025 season, after exhausting his remaining Ivy League eligibility. During his three seasons with the Quakers, Richardson performed as a core player for Penn and a top offensive player in the Ivy League.
“Duke is a special place, and I just knew I wanted to be here the moment I stepped foot on campus,” Richardson wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “After meeting all of the coaches, touring the facilities, and hearing about the culture that has been built here, it was a no-brainer for me.”
The Penn wideout is coming off his best collegiate season after leading both the team and the Ivy League with 1,033 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. He became the sixth Quaker in program history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season — the first to do so since 2017. He also led the nation with an average of eight catches per game, and ranked second nationally with 103.3 receiving yards per game.
During his time at Penn, Richardson became the first Penn player to be recognized for first-team All-America honors since former Penn football wide receiver and 2018 Wharton graduate Justin Watson in 2017. Richardson was also named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.
Richardson’s football journey was nothing but conventional. At Bethlehem Catholic High School, Richardson originally played quarterback. After not obtaining a single Division I offer for the position, Penn football recruited Richardson to the role of wide receiver.
Though he saw limited playing time during his first season as a Quaker, Richardson broke out in 2023, posting 788 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in one season.
Richardson will join a talented receiving core in Durham, N.C. led by Duke wide receiver Cooper Barkate, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in receiving yards in 2025. Like Richardson, Barkate transferred from the Ivy League to Duke just prior to the 2025 season.
The Blue Devils are coming off a successful 2025 season in which they secured a 9-5 record and a 6-2 conference record in the ACC. Duke finished the season as conference champions and Sun Bowl winners.
