Kaiser grad Shirley dismissed from UCLA football team

UCLA beat writer John Gold of our Los Angeles Newspaper group reported in this blog post that Josh Shirley was one of three incoming UCLA freshmen dismissed from the football team today after the three were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of felony theft.

Shirley, who rivals.com rated the 9th best outside linebacker in the country coming out of Kaiser High School last year, was expected to compete for playing time this season while the other two players dismissed - Gardena Serra wide receiver Paul Richardson and Los Alamitos cornerback Shaquille Richardson - were expected to redshirt this coming season.

"The three young men know they made a terrible mistake," UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel said in a release. "We expect our players to behave a certain way and there are consequences when they don't. Paul, Shaquille and Josh are paying a steep price for their lapse in judgment. They will not be allowed to enroll in school this fall and will not have the opportunity to begin their UCLA academic and athletic careers.

"Whether they are allowed to enroll for Winter Quarter will be determined at a later date. That decision will be based on several factors, including their behavior."