'10 CA S Dietrich Riley (Official Offer)

[GoRU]

Rivals
Scout



Safety
La Canada (CA)

Ht: 6-foot-1
Wt: 180 lbs
Forty: 4.57 secs
Class: 2010 (High School)

Football: Sophomore Dietrich Riley picks up first offer -- and it's from USC | Varsity Times Insider | Los Angeles Times

Dietrich Riley of La Canada St. Francis is one of the premier athletes in the Southland. Don't believe me? Ask USC coach Pete Carroll, who on Saturday offered Riley a scholarship.

"USC recruits athletes and that's about all I can say about Riley," said St. Francis coach Jim Bonds, who on Monday night confirmed the offer. "He's an athlete."

Riley is a special of speed and power. He finished last season with 840 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 124 carries and had 48 tackles, two sacks and one interception. He played running back, wide receiver, defensive back and even lined up at quarterback.

According to his profile on Scout, Riley is being looked at by all the big dogs-- Texas, Notre Dame, Florida and USC are all interested-- but USC is the first one to make an offer. Usually kids have offers from other schools before the Trojans get in the mix, but USC made a rare exception for the 6-foot-1, 185-pound sophomore. Riley hasn't said yes yet, but more on that later.

“For USC to be the first offer the kid gets, that’s saying something," Bonds said. Yeah, it says he's freaking awesome. Which, I told you so back in September.

Bonds said Riley, pictured, impressed the Trojans' coaching staff on Saturday during a camp held on the USC campus. Riley lined up at corner back and didn't allow a catch during one-on-one drills.

"He was unbelievable from what I hear," said Bonds, who was not present at the camp.

A person who was at the camp told me Riley was truly spectacular. His athleticism and strength had the coaches drooling all over the place. After the camp was over, Riley was taken to Carroll's office and received an offer. According to the fan site WeAreSC.com, Gardena JSerra wide receiver Robert Woods, a sophomore as well, also got an offer on Saturday.

"Dietrich is super excited," said Bonds about Riley, who seems to be looking to remain in the area. “He's already told me he would like to pick between USC and UCLA."

It's amazing Riley didn't say yes right on the spot, but Bonds said Riley doesn't want to rush his decision. "He doesn't want to make any decisions before, at least, this season is over."

[GoRU]

ESPN - West Recruiting Blog

2010 ESPNU 150 Watch List member Dietrich Riley (La Canada, Calif./St. Francis) picked up two early offers but look for that total to rise dramatically in the coming weeks.

Riley, one of the most versatile players in the state, camped at two schools last summer and both offered scholarships. Riley first attended the USC Rising Stars camp and was offered a few days later as a defensive back.

Riley then camped with UCLA and was offered as an athlete. At 6-2, 195 pounds, Riley plays safety and running back but according to St. Francis coach Jim Bonds, he could move to linebacker in college.

"He has a big frame and is only going to get bigger," Bonds said. "He's our most physical player and was probably our most physical player last year as a sophomore. He loves to come up and hit so I think playing weak side 'backer might be ideal for him.

"He loves running back too and honestly, he really doesn't care where he plays. At the USC camp, they worked him out a lot at corner and Pete Carroll told me he thinks he could play there because of how athletic he is and he loves those big corners."

Bonds said every Pac 10 school along with several national programs have Riley high on their list and he hasn't even gotten his junior film out yet.

"That's the crazy part," Bonds said. "He's going to explode when the colleges see the tape. Notre Dame was here last Friday, watched three plays and said they had seen enough and were going to go on him.

"Arizona is coming by today and Rick (Neuheisal) was already here this morning. Even though they already offered, Rick just wanted to make sure they were still in it and wanted Dietrich to know how bad they want him."

Coach Neuheisal was Bonds' quarterback coach at UCLA back in the late 80s and the two have a close friendship.

"He graduated in '83 so he's only a few years older than me," Bonds said. "So when he was my quarterback coach, we got along real well because there wasn't much of an age difference.

"Still, that won't play a role in what Dietrich does. I'm not going to push a player anywhere and will always let them make their own decision. Right now, he's open to anyone. He comes from a single family home, just him and his mom so he may want to stay local but I think if a school like Notre Dame, Florida or LSU were to get involved, he would definitely look at them."

[GoRU]

Riley generating buzz - ESPN

Among the top athletes to watch out for next year in the West region is multi-purpose standout Dietrich Riley (La Canada, Calif./ St. Francis). Riley has been one of the state's top players since his sophomore season and the scholarship offers are starting to roll in.

I had a chance to see Riley as a sophomore when they went up against a very good Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) team led by current Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist. Although St. Francis got beaten up pretty good, Riley still stood out on both sides of the ball and could play a number of positions in college.

"I play safety and running back now but I would like to play running back in college," Riley said. "I think I can play on either side of the ball but running back is my favorite position."

As a junior, Riley rushed for 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns to go with 50 tackles and three sacks from his safety position. He earned all-CIF and 1st team all-state underclass honors from CalHiSports.com for his efforts.

Riley currently has offers from USC, UCLA, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Arizona and Washington. He's also hearing from LSU, Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma.

"My top five is USC, UCLA, LSU, Oklahoma and Tennessee," Riley said. "I grew up a USC fan but I'm open to all the schools recruiting me right now.

"I'm looking for where I can play early and where I'm comfortable with the schools itself and a good overall environment. Right now, I'm doing basketball but still working out six days a week and I lift the day before every game."

Riley will attend the SoCal NIKE Camp as well as the USC Rising Stars camp.

[HotMic]

Scout $

2/16

By B Huffman. Tennessee has offered joining Notre Dame, Washington, USC, UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State.

[HotMic]

Scout $

2/26

From the Michigan site. Michigan has offered. Rodriquez told Riley that their top RB is a senior, and that he would like to get some more big backs coming in this year.

[panther10]

Rivals $

5/5

From the Nebraska site...says he mainly wants to check out USC, UCLA, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Alabama, Oregon, and ASU...

[GoRU]

SN100 DB still looking east - Brian McLaughlin - The Recruitnik - Sporting News

Riley, who is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety out of St. Francis (La Canada, Calif.), has scholarship offers from USC, UCLA, California and several other Pac-10 schools, but he told Sporting News he’d like to hear from even more top national programs.

“I’m still telling people I’d like to get interest from Florida, Texas, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia and like a Penn State,” Riley told SN. “I want to rack up as many offers as possible, so I don’t plan on narrowing it down soon.”

While he’d like to earn more scholarship offers, Riley already reports offers from out-of-state schools like Tennessee, Notre Dame, Alabama, Michigan, Nebraska and Oklahoma, among others.

While his list of schools hasn’t been officially trimmed, Riley—who is a member of the Sporting News Top 100—knows some schools he’d like to take trips to.

“I don’t have any favorites, but a school I know I’d like to confirm a visit to is Tennessee,” Riley told SN. “I’d like to see them when they play Georgia (Oct. 10), because I have a Thursday night game that week and I could check out campus life and get the experience. I want to see people camping out two days before the game, things like that. I think that’d be pretty sick to see, a great experience.”

Riley said he’d like to check out Notre Dame on a visit, also.