Mater Dei’s Jackson Decides Not to Follow Bo’s Example : Football: A starter for the Monarchs’ section champion basketball team last year, he has given up double duty to concentrate on playing defensive back.

Ray Jackson had it all, but one day last summer he decided he needed to scale back. Jackson’s life was becoming too unwieldy trying to juggle two sports at Mater Dei.

When he told Mater Dei basketball Coach Gary McKnight that he wanted to concentrate on football, Jackson turned his back on one dream to embrace another.

“I’ve always wanted to play football, to put on the pads, to get down and dirty,” said Jackson, a two-year starter for McKnight who also started at defensive back on Mater Dei’s 1991 Division I championship football team.

In the end, McKnight’s loss was the gain of Coach Bruce Rollinson and the football team.

Not to be overlooked was the benefit to Jackson, who ended his daily fall routine of an hour-long workout with the basketball team before heading out to a three-hour football practice. He’d never again have to race home to do his homework, eat dinner, then head to a health club to fine-tune his jump shot.

He watched Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders and decided he wanted no part of the two-sport life. It might have been easier at another school, but at Mater Dei, Jackson found it was difficult to balance two high-profile sports.

After all, how many schools can claim the success Mater Dei did in basketball and football last year?

With Jackson, 6 feet 2 1/2, 195 pounds, starting at small forward, Mater Dei’s basketball team was 34-2 and reached the State championship game, losing to Alameda St. Joseph.

“He brought a lot of athleticism to the team,” McKnight said. “He was real good defensively, filled the lane well on the fast break and gave us a lot of depth.”

The football team swept to a 13-1 record and a 35-14 victory over Rialto Eisenhower, USA Today’s top-ranked team nationally, in the section championship game.

“He got better as the season went on,” Rollinson said. “Everybody fell in love with his size and strength. The only question mark was whether he would come up and hit you. And I thought he answered that last year.”

When the football season ended, Jackson found he was in terrific shape for basketball, but that lasted only a short time. Soon he was in a horrible shooting slump.

“I’d go home in bad moods,” Jackson said.

After that bad stretch, Jackson began thinking that perhaps two sports were too much to handle.

“During football season, I had to worry about studying,” he said. “Then I was working on my shot and jumping ability. I had to concentrate on a lot of things last year. I’m surprised I managed to do it all.”

By July 1, he reached a decision. Basketball, the sport he’d played since fifth grade, would have to go. Football, which he had been playing for only one season but seemed to have the best chance for a scholarship, would be his game.

McKnight said he had a feeling Jackson was leaning toward football and he was well prepared. “Ray’s a great kid,” he said. “It’s working out real well for him.”

Said Rollinson: “It was a tough decision, but fortunately Gary’s not in a situation where it’s going to devastate his team. I think if it went the other way, if we won the CIF championship and (Jackson) was going to step aside (to play basketball), I think it would have hurt Mater Dei football a lot.”

These days, Jackson is helping an inexperienced football team blossom. Entering tonight’s South Coast League game against Mission Viejo, Mater Dei (5-0-1, 1-0 in league) is seventh-ranked in Orange County.

“Hopefully, it’ll keep going,” Jackson said of the Monarchs’ undefeated season. “We’re young and we’ve got a lot of problems to solve.”

Jackson’s play at free safety is not one of them, according to Capistrano Valley Coach Eric Patton.

“He’s extremely athletic,” Patton said after an interception by Jackson helped Mater Dei to an 18-10 victory over Capistrano Valley last week. “I’d say he’s the best safety we’ve played against. You don’t want to throw down the middle against him. It’s real hard to avoid him all together.”

In Mater Dei’s defense, Jackson can be positioned at a number of different spots on the field. Often, he’s called upon to plug the gaps as a linebacker, making big tackles on opponents’ running backs. Other times, he plays the traditional role of a pass defender, sticking close to wide receivers.

Rollinson has used Jackson at running back and wide receiver and liked the results, but the most pressing need was at safety, and that’s where the senior has excelled.

“This year he’s doing a great job,” Rollinson said. “He’s on a personal vendetta to prove to the recruiters that he’ll come up and lay a lick on you.

“I think Ray is being looked upon more favorably since last spring. He’s 6-2 1/2, 195 with a 4.5-second 40-yard time and a vertical leap of 36 inches. That more than adequately passes the prerequisites (recruiters look for).”

Indeed, more than anything, Jackson’s strength appears to be his sheer physical talent.

“You can classify me as an athlete, I think,” he said.

This year, he’ll only be on display in a football uniform. His basketball career is now just a memory.