ESPN West recruiting Blog

Posted by Greg Biggins

Los Alamitos (Calif.) defensive back Shaquille Richardson took an official visit to Arizona State this past weekend. The talented cornerback has already visited Washington and Oregon State.

"I had a great visit," Richardson said. "It was a lot of fun because I knew a lot of the players on the team and also knew all the guys who took the visit with me. My cousin Paul (Richardson) was there along with D.J. (Morgan) and Greg Ducre from Crenshaw and I've known those guys for awhile.

"My host was Matt Tucker and he was real cool and showed me around. The game atmosphere was great and I really thought ASU was going to pull it out in the end there. They have great fan support and I really enjoyed myself. As for their facilities and weight room, it was the best I've ever seen, everything thing there is first class for sure."

Richardson said he also enjoyed watching the defense, which ranks as one of the best in the nation this year.

"I think I would fit in very well with that defense," Richardson said. "They're already really good but I like their style of play and how fast and aggressive they play. Overall, I rally enjoyed it and ASU definitely is a school high on my list."

Richardson said both Arizona State and Arizona will be in the home this week for in-home visits, as December is the first time coaches are allowed to visits the prospects.

"I still need to set up my official visit to Arizona but I did set UCLA," Richardson said. "I'll be going there (Jan. 8), I think that's supposed to be a big visit weekend for the in-state prospects so that should be fun."

Riley too close to call right now
Under Armour All-American athlete Dietrich Riley (La Canada, Calif./St. Francis) was set to take an official visit to Florida this past weekend but had to postpone it due to his quarterfinal playoff game. Riley said he's down to four schools at the moment.

In a battle featuring two of the nation's best players, Riley and his St. Francis squad fell in double overtime Friday night to a talented Palmdale (Calif.) led by Under Armour All-American Joshua Shaw.

"We both put on a show but our team fell a little short," Riley said. "It was pretty heartbreaking to lose that way, I literally couldn't sleep Friday night because of the game. Our team fought hard and I'm ready to move on to next phase now and focus more on recruiting."

Shaw really lit it up rushing for 185 yards and three touchdowns, passing for 232 yards and another score and returning a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. His one-yard sneak gave Palmdale the lead in the second overtime and on a fourth down play on the Knights ensuing possession, he caused a fumble on 4th down to seal the win. Riley rushed for 121 yards on 13 carries and added 12 tackles and a fumble recovery on defense.

"Josh was incredible," Riley said. "That's why I want to play with him. He's a great guy too and I know we could do a lot damage together in college."

Riley has already visited Notre Dame and Tennessee and said the Vols will be in the house this Tuesday for a home visit.

"I have an official visit to USC set for (Dec. 13) and I'm definitely going to visit Florida too but they wanted to wait until after the season. They're recruiting me as an athlete so I could play safety, running back or receiver, they didn't really specify but I'm fine with playing wherever they need me.

"USC likes me at safety and I'm very comfortable there. USC is a great school and I've followed them forever. I was at the game with UCLA on Saturday and it got pretty wild there at the end.

"To be honest, I almost left in the second quarter because it was so boring but the ending sure packed some excitement. If you're UCLA and you're down late like that and the other team takes a knee, just let the game finish, don't call a timeout. As soon as they did that, all of the recruits in our section were calling it and saying SC is going to go deep on them and that's just what they did."

As for a leader, Riley said he's focusing on four schools right now and is open to all of them.

"Honestly, I feel like every day, I have a new leader," Riley said. "It was Florida for awhile but right now, I'm even between Florida, USC, Tennessee and Notre Dame. Once I'm done with my official visits and home visits, I should have a better idea of what I'm doing and then I'll be ready to commit sometime in late January.

"I was going to take another unofficial visit to Notre Dame but I'm not sure if I'll still be able to do that. Right now, I'm curious if they're going to make a change but I'm still very interested in Notre Dame and if they bring in a new coach, hopefully they'll still be recruiting me because I really loved it there."