Dodgers Sign UCLA Recruit
Mike Nixon, a catcher from Phoenix Sunnyslope High, has signed with the Dodgers for about $1 million and will not play football at UCLA.
The Bruins had hoped the 6-foot-2, 210-pound safety would play both sports, but Nixon decided to focus on baseball after the Dodgers drafted him in the third round and gave him a signing bonus equal to that of a late first-round pick.
Nixon, who intercepted three passes and returned a fumble for a touchdown in a high school all-star game Saturday, informed UCLA coaches football is in his past.
“I’ll miss it, but I’m not going to look back at all,” he said. “I made my decision. If I have a bad game, I’m not going to think maybe I should be playing football.”
Nixon will report to the Dodger rookie league team in Great Falls, Mont.
Another UCLA recruit at safety is weighing a pro baseball career. Jarrad Page, a shortstop-outfielder from San Leandro High, was a fifth-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers.
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