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Miguel Melendez here filling in for Jon Gold (username and all) ….

* The update today on linebacker Patrick Larimore is that he indeed suffered a concussion on Saturday. Mora said he wasn’t sure if Larimore would miss only today’s practice, the next week or the entire spring practice. Linebacker Aaron Wallace, who also appeared to have suffered concussion-like symptoms on the same play that involved Larimore’s injury, did practice after his symptoms cleared.

** Wide receiver Damien Thigpen, who had been nursing a groin injury, returned to practice and looked decent for the first half before pulling it again running a route. “He ran a crossing route and he just kind of turned weird and pulled it a little bit,” Mora said. “He’s been fighting through it. I’d like him to be able to finish the spring.” Mora added that Thigpen was taken out for cautionary reasons.

*** It’s no secret that the defensive line will be UCLA’s strength this season. Wesley Flowers is a beast out there and Datone Jones is like a classic muscle car that hauls on diesel. “We have outstanding depth,” Mora said. “And that’s without (five-star signee) Ellis (McCarthy). We have about eight guys that are legitimate players at this level. A couple legitimate at the next level. I think we’ll have a nice rotatio at end and nose tackle, be able to keep guys fresh. To me right now it’s probablly the strenght of our football team.” Mora said a big credit goes to D-line coach Angus McClure.

***** Practice was shorter today than it was Saturday. No particular reason was given. Nothing earth shattering happened. Quarterbacks looked about the same, though I’d give Richard Brehaut the slightest of edge. Kevin Prince was intercepted on a low-hanging short route.

From UCLA:

DURHAM, N.C. – UCLA sophomore right-hander Adam Plutko has been named to the 2012 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Roster, as announced Tuesday afternoon by USA Baseball.

Plutko, a 6-foot-3 product from Upland, Calif., has gone 5-2 with a 2.98 ERA in a team-leading 63.1 innings for the Bruins this season.

“I am honored to be selected as one of the collegiate players who will represent the United States this summer,” Plutko said. “This has been one of my dreams for a long time, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

He becomes the fifth UCLA selection to the Collegiate National Team in the last four years and the sixth selection under eighth-year head coach John Savage. Other recent selections from UCLA include Gerrit Cole (2009, 2010), Steve Rodriguez (2010), Trevor Bauer (2009) and Brandon Crawford (2006).

“Adam has been very consistent for us over his first year and a half at UCLA,” Savage said. “It’s great to see another one our players selected to compete for the United States on the Collegiate National Team. This is a well-deserved honor for Adam, and we’re confident that he will represent UCLA and Team USA at the highest level.”

The schedule for this summer’s team includes a five-game series against the Cuban National Team in Havana (July 5-9), as well as a trip to Haarlem, The Netherlands, for the Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week (July 14-22).

Cole and Rodriguez helped Team USA win the silver medal at the 2010 World University Baseball Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

The 2012 Collegiate National Team will be coached by Tennessee head coach Dave Serrano. The team’s assistant coaches include Jason Gill (head coach at Loyola Marymount), George Horton (head coach at Oregon) and Andy Stankiewicz (head coach at Grand Canyon).

USA Baseball selects its Collegiate National Team based on its professional teams’ selection model. The player pool is primarily comprised of non-draft-eligible college players. Trials are no longer utilized to select the team.

Other college players who have accepted selection to the 2012 Collegiate National Team include Kris Bryant (San Diego), Austin Cousino (Kentucky), Michael Lorenzen (Cal State Fullerton), Bobby Wahl (Mississippi) and Trevor Williams (Arizona State).

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They say it’s darkest just before the dawn.

If that’s the case, get Ben Howland some shades, because things are looking pretty bright in Westwood.

After missing the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years last season, the UCLA basketball team continued its impressive offseason haul, picking up the commitment of No. 20-ranked prospect Tony Parker out of Miller Grove High in Lithonia, Geo., on Monday afternoon. Parker announced his intentions in front of a packed audience in a 45-minute ceremony, choosing the Bruins over Ohio State, Georgia and Duke.

Parker becomes the fourth member of a monster recruiting class for Howland, joining No. 2-ranked Shabazz Muhammad, No. 4 Kyle Anderson and No. 76 Jordan Adams, enough to secure UCLA either the No. 1 or No. 2 ranking from most top recruiting services.

“It is icing on the cake today to have Tony Parker join this recruiting class,” Howland said. “”He is a great player that has an unbelievable work ethic. I’m so excited for our program to have a quality big man like Tony join our team and Bruin family. ”

Parker joins a crowded frontcourt that includes returning juniors Joshua Smith, Anthony Stover, David and Travis Wear, but Howland insisted that he would battle for playing time early. With a backcourt that returns Tyler Lamb and Norman Powell and adds North Carolina transfer Larry Drew, the Bruins could jump into the preseason top-10.

“(Parker) is going to come in and compete right away for a starting position,” Howland said. “This thing is wide open. We have 11 on scholarship and each position will be contested. He’s competing for major minutes right away as a freshman.”

Parker’s commitment comes on the heels of Muhammad’s announcement that he would join the Bruins over Kentucky and Duke, and he is now the second signee largely credited to assistant coach Korey McCray. Both Parker and Adams played on McCray’s Atlanta Celtics AAU team, and Howland gave McCray, whom he hired before last season, his due.

“No question; Korey McCray has done an incredible job recruiting both Jordan Adams and Tony Parker from his home state,” Howland said. “Were he not on staff we wouldn’t have gotten either one of those kids.”

Howland highlighted the foursome’s winning ways in high school, as the group combined to go 128-13 last season. Adams led Oak Hill Academy to a 44-0 record, Muhammad guided Bishop Gorman to a Nevada state title, Anderson went 65-0 in his final two seasons at famed St. Anthony’s in New Jersey and Parker became the first player to win four Georgia state championships, taking home the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mr. Basketball honors this season.

Howland knows that with the star-studded lineup comes increased expectations. He almost sounds relieved that they’re back.

“What’s the alternative to that?” Howland said. “That’s my answer to that. These are the kinds of problems we want to have. High expectations, we have those anyway. We’ve failed to meet the high expectations we’ve had for this program two of the last three years.”

(Additional Howland quotes after the jump:)

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