I spoke with UCLA right tackle Aleksey Lanis a little while ago and he said several factors played into his decision to retire from football.
First, he had three significant injuries in his two years as a starter, including two knee surgeries. Also, he was married and had a son in the offseason, and wants to do this for his family. His plan is to finish his degree in the fall and then go to graduate school while pursuing a career in business.
Lanis said he recently had his application to UCLA’s graduate school turned down, so he will look elsewhere. I’ll have some comments from Lanis in Tuesday’s paper.
I asked UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel if he tried to talk Lanis out of retiring.
“It was clear in his face that he wasnt ready to go on,” Neuheisel said. “If I thought there was hope, I probably would have pushed harder and harder, but he was pretty set in his decision, and you have to respect that.