Talented freshmen light up defense

Rarely do you see a freshman safety make an impact on a college football team in his first season ““ whether it be a physical impact on a receiver or an impact on the team as a whole ““ and UCLA freshman safety Dietrich Riley has done his best to do both during the first three weeks of fall practice.

Riley, one of many talented rookies clawing their way up the Bruins’ depth chart, flashes not only reliable cover skills but also a knack for hitting, and hitting hard.

Just don’t fall into the trap of dubbing the young safety ““ who could be seen soaking in all he could from the sidelines as far back as spring ball ““ a one-trick pony.

“I’ve always been known as a hard hitter, but I don’t want people to forget about my cover abilities,” Riley said.

UCLA loses national championship, 2-1, to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. “”mdash; Dan Klein took one look at Whit Merrifield’s line drive into right field, then removed his glove and walked slowly off the mound. Typically, it’s an inning-ending routine for the UCLA closer, but this time it was on the wrong end of a season-ending loss.