COLLEGE RECRUIT MAKES A U-TURN.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

Jamal Harris was a star football player for Westlake High School when he was recruited last year by Oregon State University. All he needed was to complete a geometry class in summer school, and he'd be on his way.

But the class ended too late for OSU to legally accept the units, and Harris was left out.

``I was angry at first,'' he said, ``and then (I said), `I'm not gonna worry about it.' ''

So Harris enrolled at Moorpark College, where the Raiders football team is ranked 19th in Street and Smith's national junior college preseason poll.

``Right now, it was better for me to stay, to get me better prepared to leave,'' he said. ``I wasn't sure I wanted to leave.''

That's the impression Moorpark coach Jim Bittner received.

``I think he sort of wanted to stay around home, to tell you the truth,'' Bittner said. ``He seemed comfortable.''

Indeed, Harris is finding it easier to become accustomed to college life in Moorpark rather than in Corvallis, Ore.

``When you go to a major college, you assume classes will be tougher,'' he said. ``I basically goofed off the first two years of high school, so I wasn't sure where I was at. Not that I couldn't do it, but in a JC, there's 50 students, so you feel closer to the teacher.''

Harris also expects a lot of challenges on the athletic field.

``Everything's a lot faster, quicker; everyone's smarter, and there's a lot more athletes,'' he said. ``So, you're always fighting for your position. In high school, you get your position and you stick at that position. In college, there's too many athletes, so it's the small things that could change who starts. The guy who's faster or stronger might not be better than you.''

Harris still dreams of - and works toward - a major-college career. He's not under any obligation to stay at Moorpark for the full two years to earn an associate's degree before transferring.

He could still end up at Oregon State. That university gave him the opportunity to enroll at junior colleges in Arizona and Ohio that feed right into the university. But he turned down the offer.

``I thought I'd rather stay home, and Moorpark's not a bad college,'' he said. ``I can leave all my options open.''