Gaven Cooke walking on at Iowa

California safety Gaven Cooke has made his college decision. After visiting Iowa City this past weekend, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Cooke has accepted a preferred walk-on opportunity with the Iowa Hawkeyes despite interest from PAC-12 schools closer to home.

"I had the same opportunities as a preferred walk-on at Oregon, Arizona State, and Cal, but when I got to Iowa and talked to the coaches and players I knew it was the spot for me," said Cooke. "It’s all about putting in the hard work and the grind at Iowa and that really spoke to me."

"They don’t care if you're a scholarship guy or a preferred walk-on, once you are on campus the best guys are going to play and the best guys are always the hardest working guys and that is something I take pride in," Cooke said.

Cooke attends Marin Catholic, which is the same high school that produced Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras, and has heard good things about the Hawkeyes from his former teammate, who he will be reunited with in college.

"Spencer was telling me that it’s the best football school in the country and it was the place for me," said Cooke. "He knew once I got there I would love it and having him there showing me around telling me about it was great."

See highlights from Cooke's senior year at Marin Catholic in the video below.

Iowa's Class of 2020 walk-ons:

Gaven Cooke - 6-foot-1, 180-pound DB from Kentfield, CA

Zack Lasek - 6-foot-8, 245-pound DE from Ainsworth, IA

Andrew Wilson - 6-foot-4, 225-pound TE from Sterling, IL

Jamison Heinz - 6-foot-0, 191-pound WR from Humboldt, IA

Jake Fisher - 6-foot-2, 180-pound DB from Treynor, IA

Jeremy Chaplin - 6-foot-2, 245-pound DT from Waverly, IA

Jack Johnson - 6-foot-0, 180-pound WR from West Des Moines, IA

Isaiah Wagner - 6-foot-4, 212-pound WR from Pleasant Hill, IA

Aaron Blom - 5-foot-11, 165-pound K from Oskaloosa, IA