Carroll, Nelson, Flowers dismissed from football team

The first three axes have fallen.

UCLA head coach Jim Mora announced the dismissal of three football players – rising senior wide receiver/defensive back Randall Carroll, rising sophomore tight end Raymond Nelson and rising redshirt sophomore defensive end Wesley Flowers – on Monday morning, soon after holding his first team meeting of the new year.

“At UCLA, we have a high set of standards that we expect every student-athlete to adhere to,” Mora said in a release. “Unfortunately, these three gentlemen choose not to do so.”

Carroll, who converted to defensive back from wide receiver late in the season, was one of the highest profile recruits of the Rick Neuheisel era, but is no longer enrolled at UCLA because of a failure to “meet academic requirements,” a school release said. Carroll had 15 receceptions for 242 yards as a true sophomore in 2010, coming on strong toward the end of the season. He had a standout spring session but seemed to lose confidence during fall camp and finished with just three catches for 34 yards this season. The No. 13 wideout in the class of 2009 – who spurned USC to pick UCLA – finished his career with 21 catches for 297 yards and two touchdowns.

Nelson and Flowers, meanwhile, were both dismissed from the program for a violation of team rules. Nelson, who was sent home early from the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, played in eight games as a true freshman, while Flowers has not seen any action.