Who Is Walker Lyons? Meet the USC Tight End Dating DWTS’ Rylee Arnold

University of Southern California freshman tight end Walker Lyons is wasting no time making headlines off the field.

Dancing With the Stars pro Rylee Arnold went public with Lyons in October 2024.

“Is this a hard launch?? 🤭❤️‍🔥,” Arnold captioned an Instagram post at the time, which featured several photos of herself and Lyons. The duo was all smiles in the first photo, which showed Arnold cuddling up to Lyons with her hand on his chest. He was quick to share the post via Instagram Stories as well.

Arnold’s relationship confirmation came just after she teased a new man in her life.

“OK friends, get ready with me for rehearsal while I debrief the date I went on a couple nights ago,” she shared in an October 2024 TikTok. “Fun fact, we actually hung out last night as well.”

The DWTS star noted that they had “gone out two nights in a row” and called the then-mystery man “easy to talk to.”

“We have so many similarities which was so fun to talk about,” Arnold continued. “He is so sweet and humble and just all the amazing qualities. So I’m really curious to see how this all pans out.”

Keep scrolling for everything to know about Lyons:

1. He’s a California Native

The college football player grew up in Folsom, California, and attended Folsom High School before being recruited to play for the USC Trojans.

2. He’s Had a Successful Football Career — So Far

While he’s only a freshman at USC, Lyons still came from a very successful football background. He was named All-American Bowl’s Man of the Year while playing in the 2023 Under Armour All-American football game, which is an high school all-star game.

3. He and Arnold Have Similar Religious Beliefs

While Arnold has been open about being a member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lyons is a Mormon too.

4. He’s Already Been on a Mission Trip

Lyons’ USC bio reveals that he graduated high school in 2022 and served a mission in Norway before starting at the university. Trojans football coach Lincoln Riley spoke about the “unique” situation of signing Lyons before he went on his mission trip.

“He did a good job, I think, of staying in shape while on his mission. You can tell he didn’t come back crazy out of shape,” the coach shared in an August 2024 interview. “Now there’s a big difference between working out and getting back into it. He’s handled it well. He’s a tough kid.”

5. He Comes From a Large Family

According to Instagram, Lyons is one of five siblings — including sisters Kapri and Kassidy (who is married to brother-in-law David) and brothers Ryder and Timothy. Arnold, meanwhile, has three siblings, including DWTS alum Lindsay Arnold who gushed about her little sister’s romance in the comments section on Instagram, writing, “I CANNOT GET OVER YOU TWO”