Well this is now reallly official official. As you can see from the picture above Brian Price, our all world defensive tackle had a press conference this afternoon during when he officially announced about his decision to forgo his remaining college eligibility and make himself available for the upcoming NFL draft. Jill Painter reported that Brian is not going to be enrolled in classes in winter quarter so that he can fully focus on his preparations for the NFL draft.
Again, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone here on Bruins Nation. I think Brian is ready for this. I wish him all the luck. Hey may be somehow he will end up playing for Coach Singletary up north. Then again I am sure there will be other teams keeping a close eye on him in the coming months. I will update this post as more information becomes available. Coach Neuheisel and Price's Dad (Mr. Frank Price) also flanked him at the press conference.
Once again, congratulations Brian and thank you for everything and wonderful three years. We will miss you.
GO BRUINS.
UPDATE (N): As pointed out by number of you in the comment threads Ramona Shellburne's WWL article has Frank Price's telling comments on Rick Neuheisel's role in Brian's decision:
"Coach Neuheisel was great, too. He didn't act like a desperate coach. I gained so much respect for him and for UCLA in this whole process."
Mr. Price also mentioned an interesting angle on one of the factors leading to Brian's decision:
Frank Price said his son moved closer to his NFL decision during the Bruins' loss to USC in November. Brian Price made five tackles and forced a fumble in the game, but Frank Price said he also fought off a series of Trojans blockers taking aim at his lower legs.
Guess we can expect nothing less from a Carroll coached team. Anyway, Brian summed up his feelings about UCLA by saying this:
"That's one of the things I love about UCLA, the family atmosphere," Brian Price said. "Family is very important to me, and that's why I love UCLA so much."
We all love him back. GO BRUINS.