Safety Dietrich Riley takes medical retirement

UCLA safety Dietrich Riley has taken a medical retirement after missing all of the 2012 season due to a neck injury, ending the career of a once-touted four-star recruit. The Los Angeles Times first reported the news.

The 6-0, 200-pound rising junior would have been the most experienced member of the Bruins’ secondary, a unit that lost all four of last season’s starters. He had not played since colliding with Cal running back Isi Sofele in October 2011, an injury that required him to undergo single-level fusion surgery.

Riley had sounded optimistic about his chances to return, saying that his neck felt even stronger than it did before the operation. He also injured his shoulder during spring practices and was held out of most full-contact drills.