Jackson’s action

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 | 10:01 a.m.

You can take Steven Jackson out of Las Vegas but you can't take the Las Vegas out of Steven Jackson.

Jackson, a two-time Pacific-10 rushing champion from Oregon State via Eldorado High School, is expected to be the first running back taken Saturday when the two-day NFL draft begins in New York. And Jackson, the son of a pit boss at Caesar's Palace, who has spent most of the past few months training at a health club in Henderson, couldn't help but pull out a couple of gambling metaphors when he was asked Tuesday afternoon where he thought he might end up.

"A lot of teams out there are kind of playing poker out there right now," Jackson said. "They don't want to show their hands to anybody. Actually I think I'm kind of the wild-card of the draft. I could go anywhere from sixth (to the Detroit Lions) to 14th (Chicago Bears) from what I'm hearing. But you never quite know what's going to happen.

"The nerves are starting to pick up right now."

Jackson said he planned to watch the draft on Saturday somewhere in Las Vegas but wasn't exactly sure where yet.

"I'll just sit there with my bags packed and ready to go to whoever picks me," Jackson said. "I guess I'll be wearing neutral colors."

A 6-foot-2, 233-pounder, Jackson rushed for 149 yards and tied an NCAA bowl record with five touchdowns in Oregon State's 55-14 victory against New Mexico in the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas Eve in his final college game. He said the teams that he has heard mentioned the most for his services include Detroit, Denver, Dallas and Philadelphia.

Of those teams, the Lions get first crack at No. 6. Detroit has also been rumored to be eyeing Miami tight end Kellen Winslow to complement last year's No. 1 pick, wide receiver Charles Rogers. There has also been some speculation in recent days that the Lions may wait until the second round to pick a running back with local star Chris Perry of Michigan a possibility.

Denver has the 17th pick of the draft and could be in the market for a running back after trading Clinton Portis to Washington for cornerback Champ Bailey. But the Broncos have a history of plucking talented runners in the late rounds such as Terrell Davis (sixth round), Olandis Gary (fourth round) and Mike Anderson (sixth round) and recently signed two-time Pro Bowler Garrison Hearst to a one-year, $760,000 deal to battle Anderson and 2003 pick Quentin Griffin for the starting job.

Dallas, which doesn't pick until 21st but has been rumored to be looking to move up, Tampa Bay (15), St. Louis (26) and Philadelphia (28) are among the other teams expected to draft running backs early in the draft.

"I think Steven Jackson will be one of the first 10 of 15 picks of the draft," said UNLV head coach John Robinson, who tried to recruit Jackson and coached NFL Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Marcus Allen.

Jackson's old Oregon State coach, Dennis Erickson, now the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, also believes Jackson will go in the top half of the first round. The 49ers have the 16th pick but are expected to focus on drafting a wide receiver after losing both Terrell Owens and Tai Streets.

"If Steven is there when we pick, you have to think about it," Erickson said. "I'm a big Steven Jackson fan. He's going to be a great NFL running back for a number of years because he's got it all. He's over 230 pounds and he's run the 100 meters in 10.5 seconds. He's got great feet, he can take it the distance, he's tough and he's smart.

"Somebody is going to get a really good player in Steven Jackson, no matter where they get him. But I can't imagine him going beyond the 20th pick."

Jackson is one of three Beavers from Las Vegas area high schools who could be drafted this weekend.

Linebacker Richard Seigler of Chaparral High School is expected to be a mid-round pick. A 6-2 1/2, 240-pounder, Seigler is rated the 12th-best linebacker in the draft by ESPN Insider and the fifth-best inside linebacker.

Seigler may have gone even higher if he hadn't torn a medial collateral knee ligament in the second quarter of Oregon State's Las Vegas Bowl victory against New Mexico on Christmas Eve. He continued to play with the injury, which didn't require surgery, but may have hurt him in his sprint drills for NFL scouts. Seigler was timed at just 4.86 in the 40.

"I'm a football player," Seigler told the Portland Tribune on Tuesday. "I don't run track. I play football faster than I sprint. I read keys and fly to the ball and make plays. I think the scouts recognize that."

Safety Lawrence Turner, a Cheyenne High School graduate, could sneak into the late rounds or sign as a free agent. Ditto Utah defensive back Arnold Parker, who starred at Cimarron-Memorial High School.

"Lawrence Turner ran and jumped real well for the pro scouts here," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "His stock is going up. Lawrence made a lot of plays for us during his time here."

"It's going to be a great draft for Oregon State," Seigler said. "Six or seven of us will get drafted, and hopefully we can go out and become great players like Chad Johnson and Nick Barnett."

Jackson figures to have the best chance of accomplishing that feat.

"I see Steven as a can't-miss guy," Riley, who coached LaDainian Tomlinson as head coach of the Chargers, said. "Whoever takes him is getting a really good player and a team guy. You won't have to worry about him off the field."

"I can't wait to see where I'm going," Jackson said. "Right now I have no idea which team is going to pick me. ... You kind of wish you could fast forward through these next few days like TIVO. The waiting is the hardest part now."