Servite’s Malone Follows Gass’ Lead, Picks Fresno State : Football: Teammates commit to Bulldogs on same day. Jackson chooses Washington State, Ralphs selects Villanova.

After a weekend recruiting trip to Villanova, Servite High defensive back A.J. Gass called teammate Jeff Malone on Monday and delivered the news.

“He told me he was tired of all this (recruiting),” Malone said. “He was committing to Fresno State.”

Malone, an offensive tackle, followed Gass’ lead Monday, giving the Bulldogs three commitments by Orange County players. Rancho Alamitos’ Marshall Brown committed to Fresno State last week.

“A.J. and I thought it would be neat to go to the same college,” Malone said. “We asked each other about it every day in school, if he would commit or I would commit. He made the decision, and then I called and told them I was coming, too.”

Also announcing their college choices Monday were Mater Dei defensive back Ray Jackson (Washington State) and Newport Harbor defensive end Beau Ralphs (Villanova). Feb. 3 is the first day players can sign with a college.

Fresno State has enjoyed a strong recruiting season following its 24-7 victory over USC in the Freedom Bowl.

Gass, 6 feet 3 and 185 pounds, chose Fresno State over Villanova and Arizona.

“Fresno has good academics and a great football program,” Gass said. “It’s a great place to go.”

Malone, 6-3 and 235, was recruited by Oregon State, Arizona State and Colorado State. He and Gass visited Fresno State in mid-December.

“It will be nice to have a friend up there,” Malone said. “I liked the atmosphere at Fresno. Servite has a big family unity, and it’s the same way there (Fresno State).

“It’s a nice area, and has a slower pace than the city. And the city revolves around Bulldog football. They brought 611 rooter buses to the Freedom Bowl.”

Both players said they plan to sit out their freshman seasons as redshirts. Malone said he will play on the offensive line; Gass will play strong safety.

Gass, the Sunset League’s defensive player of the year last season, had 80 tackles, 11 sacks, blocked a field goal and forced four fumbles. Malone was a first-team, all-league selection.

Fresno State is tied with Stanford for the most commitments by county players with three. Stanford has commitments from Los Alamitos quarterback Tim Carey, linebackers Leon Vickers of Rancho Alamitos and Bryan Werner of Esperanza.

Jackson, a Times’ all-county first-team pick, chose Washington State over Oregon and UCLA. He visited the Pullman, Wash., campus over the weekend, and canceled trips to the other schools.

Jackson is the fourth Mater Dei player to go to Washington State in the last three seasons, joining cousins Derek and Leland Sparks and David Knuff. Leland Sparks was Jackson’s recruiting host during the trip.

“I like it (in Pullman),” Jackson said. “It’s nice.

“The trip was fun. There were about 20 recruits, and we all went to Coach (Mike) Price’s house and cooked steaks. Then we went to some parties. Then we went sledding.”

Ralphs, a Times’ all-county first-team player, committed to Villanova, a Division I-AA school for football, after visiting the Pennsylvania campus over the weekend.

Ralphs, 6-2 and 247 pounds, made the visit with Gass and Esperanza’s Travis Pulliam. He’s the first county player this season to commit to the Wildcats, who are recruiting several area players.

He has canceled a visit to St. Mary’s next weekend, and added that trips to Fresno State, UNLV and Nevada fell through last week.

“I’m going to play right away at Villanova,” Ralphs said. “They told me I’m the No. 1 guy at defensive end.”