Riley takes surprise visit and sets fifth

Four-star two-way standout, Dietrich Riley (6-1, 200, 4.47) from La Canada (Calif.) Saint Francis made a surprise visit to UCLA last weekend. Visiting the Westwood campus was his third official visit. He has another to USC this weekend, but that one could be put on hold until a coach is named to replace Pete Carroll. He also recently received an offer from LSU and will visit the campus in Baton Rouge.

"My trip to UCLA went really well," Riley said. "It was a visit my family was able to check out. My mom was there along side with me so she enjoyed the visit. Also my grandfather, my uncle and my godmother were there. It was an opportunity for us to get to know Coach Rick Neuheisel and his staff more and see things that we would not normally see if you took an unofficial visit."

"The first night I had Tony Dye as my host and then the second night I had Rahim Moore," Riley said. "It was great for us to hang out at dinner. We were just talking about things outside of football.

"Rahim actually knows one of my dad's good friends," Riley said. "We laughed about that for a bit and all that so that actually brought us pretty close. Rahim just talked about his experiences throughout his recruiting process and the things he went through. He was just giving me tips on how to handle it better and just giving me advice. I took all of his advice and it should help out in the long run.

"I also bonded well on the visit with Jordan Zumwalt," Riley said. "He was sitting across from the table from me.

"We were eating our prime rib and we were talking about Pop Warner," Riley said. "He mentioned how he played for the Huntington Beach Chargers and I mentioned that I played for the Pasadena Trojans.

"I told him I was number one and all that," Riley said. "Then he said, 'oh my God' and we just started reminiscing and bringing back memories.

"We played against each other twice and a funny story is he told me that because of me, I broke his shoulder," Riley said. "He ended up having surgery and he showed me his scar.

"Next thing we get back to the dorms and I'm looking at his highlight and I am thinking, oh my goodness, this dude is a monster," Riley said. "I can't believe he's only rated a three-star. He's a monster, he's all over. His highlight film speaks for itself. I want to play on the same team with him.

Riley was planning on visiting USC this coming weekend on January 15th, but that visit could be put on hold.

"I plan on waiting until USC hires a coach," Riley said. "I know that on January 22 I will be visiting LSU.

"I have been planning on LSU for a long time and once I landed the offer, I knew that was a school that I wanted to go visit," Riley said. "They offered me last Monday (Jan. 4th).

"If I don't take my visit to USC this weekend and they don't hire a coach by then," Riley said. "I'll probably go up to UCLA and hang around campus and be with all the other recruits.

"Most likely it will come down to USC, UCLA, LSU, Notre Dame and Florida," Riley said. "I haven't talked to the new coach at Notre Dame so we are just being patient."

Riley played in the Under Armor All-American game and in a testimony to his toughness he played through pain.

"There is nothing serious," Riley said about his injury. "I just have fluid in the knee so I have to sit out basketball a week. I had my knee drained out three times last week.

"I had x-rays just to see what is going on and to see if there is anything serious," Riley said. "As of right now, we are just waiting for the results back."