Buckey Making a Strong Impression : Preps: He already has signed to play football for Stanford. Now he’s showing what he can do in track and field.

After Bill Walsh accepted the job as Stanford’s football coach in January, his first order of business was to stop by the home of top recruit Jeff Buckey of Bakersfield High.

Walsh showed he could still turn on the charm. Buckey, a highly recruited offensive and defensive guard, committed to the Cardinal a week later.

“Lou Holtz had visited me a week earlier, so I was feeling pretty good about Notre Dame,” Buckey said. “But when I found myself sitting next to Bill Walsh, I was a little overwhelmed. This guy has won three Super Bowls, and the San Francisco 49ers have always been my favorite team.”

Buckey told Walsh he would go to Stanford, provided he could also compete on the track team. Walsh gladly obliged.

The Bakersfield senior had made it clear to the dozens of coaches who recruited him that he wanted to be a two-sport athlete, which caused some schools to back away.

Buckey, 6 feet 5 and 300 pounds, wants to play in the NFL and make the Olympic track team.

Both goals seem within reach. Although he did not start playing football until he was in high school, Buckey was named to the Cal-Hi Sports all-state team the last three years. In track, he won the shotput and discus titles at the Central Section meet last season, then won the discus championship at the State meet at Cerritos College.

Buckey, who turns 18 in August, set a junior national record of 210 feet 1 inch in the discus last season. The mark, recorded in a local triangular meet, was the best for high school athletes for the year.

Although Buckey said he was not surprised by the record-setting throw, he was was disappointed with his timing. He had aimed to reach a peak at the Arcadia Invitational later that week. He finished second in the discus at Arcadia with a mark of 195-10.

“I was definitely on a downfall after being on an emotional high,” Buckey said. “That throw took a lot out of me.”

Buckey said he will not make the same mistake this year. In preparation for today’s Arcadia Invitational, which begins at 4 p.m. at Arcadia High, Buckey will conserve his energy.

“We have a triangular meet this week, and I will compete,” he said. “But I will just do standing throws, and nothing that will exert all of my energy.”

Two weeks ago, Buckey recorded his best mark of the season in the discus at the Pasadena Games, 192-4. He also won the shotput at 58-0. He added victories in both events last weekend at the Fresno Relays.

His 192-4 discus throw leads the state this season and is second best in the nation. He also leads the state in the shot at 60-1 1/4.

Because Buckey has little competition in the Central Section, he comes to Los Angeles for the big invitationals. Next weekend, he will compete at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays.

“Kids in our area are always amazed when Jeff steps up to throw,” said Tim Hartnett, an assistant track coach at Bakersfield. “No matter how noisy and busy the meet may be, everybody stops and gets quiet when Jeff throws. People are impressed with his athletic abilities.”

Since he started high school, Buckey has worked diligently in the weight room. He can bench-press 385 pounds and squat 460. Despite his size, though, he can run the 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds.

“I have never had a player as physically dominating as Jeff,” said Pat Preston, Bakersfield’s football coach. “He had college-level ability as a high school player. He’s so big and strong that he runs through most high school guards.”

Football may be his favorite sport, but Buckey takes track just as seriously. Hartnett said that Buckey has so perfected the spin technique that his mistakes are minimal.

Buckey is also a straight-A student who recently was presented with the Dial Award in Washington as the top scholar-athlete in the country. He plans to enter Stanford as a premed student. “I want to be an orthopedic surgeon,” Buckey said. “I’d like to be involved with sports medicine.”

Of course, medical school will have to wait until after he’s finished with athletics. And Buckey hopes that will be a good long time.