Kahuku football player Jray Galeai gets the most out of his unique first name.

Instead of being named Ray Jr., after his father — one of the most superb athletes to come out of Kahuku — the "J" for junior was just tagged up front.

"He wanted to name me after him, but there's so many 'juniors' in the family, he didn't want to name me 'Junior,' " Galeai said of his father. "so he put 'J' initial and 'Ray' together to make Jray, so it's like Junior Ray."

But it's pronounced like Dr. Dre.

"That's one thing I get out of everybody out here is that it's unique," Galeai said.

Much like his name, the Red Raiders are banking on getting the most out of Galeai by switching him from quarterback to safety this season.

"By moving Jray, it allows us to use his versatility," Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. "He can play special teams. We can (still) use him on offense as a receiver. He just needs to get more reps on offense. Once he does, he'll be on that side of the ball more (often)."

By freeing him from quarterback, he becomes a multi-purpose player. Even on defense he is versatile, as he has been playing cornerback of late instead of free safety.

"That's because we have two good safeties in Aulola Tonga and Irwin Ah-Hoy," Torres said.

That's how deep talent runs in Kahuku, which is expected to challenge for the postseason again, despite a 35-0 shellacking from Kamehameha on Friday.

Galeai said he loves the switch of positions.

"I've always dreamed of playing defensive back," he said. "Funny, instead of getting hit, now I'm the one doing the hitting."

Galeai, listed at 6 feet and 177 pounds, is ranked third in www.Rivals.com's top 15 prospects in Hawai'i. (Tonga, who is 6-3 and 205, is ranked 10th.) Galeai already has offers from Brigham Young, Hawai'i and Oregon State. Michigan State has been inquiring of late, he added.

The Cougars were the first to offer Galeai and he accepted — after his sophomore season at Timpview High in Provo, Utah.

"Coach (Bronco) Mendenhall said he doesn't do that too often," Jray's father, Ray Galeai, said. "But he felt that Jray was a good fit and being that he was Mormon and his endorsement from the church leaders were pretty good, he felt it was good to offer him a full ride."

But Jray is still listening to other schools, he said. He chose BYU because, so far, it is the only school that meets his needs.

"I felt that BYU was the best place for me religion-wise because of my faith," he said. "Their academics challenge you a lot and I wanted to further my education. Plus, they're doing pretty good in football."

He said his top priority is to be able to fulfill his mission for the Mormon Church. He wants to do his mission after his freshman year.

Galeai was born here, but moved to Utah at an early age when his father, Ray Galeai, gave football a second try at Dixie College, a junior college in Saint George, Utah. The elder Galeai, a 1988 graduate of Kahuku and an all-state defensive back his senior year, said he was recruited by BYU.

"I didn't have the grades, so I ended up at junior college (Ricks in Idaho)," he said. "But things didn't work out there, so I came back home, got married."

While Ray was here, BYU was in town recruiting his brother-in-law, Mark Atuaia. Ray Galeai said then-BYU coach LaVell Edwards asked him 'Do you have anything left?' The BYU coach helped him get to Dixie. But since his athletic clock started at Ricks in 1988, he only had that one season at Dixie. Still, he was invited to play in the 1994 Hula Bowl.

Although he eventually stayed in Utah, he was always able to visit home. Since his wife, Mili, worked for an airline, the family used to travel back to Hawai'i frequently. He said Jray always wanted to stay. When Jray got older, his father told him if he kept his grades up, he would let him move back to Hawai'i. So in 2006, he moved in with his grandparents. A year later, his parents joined him.

"I always wanted to play for Kahuku," Jray said. "It was one of my dreams as a little kid. All my family went there. I just wanted to be a part of that tradition. I felt it could help me in my life."

Jray said he had heard the stories of his father's athletic prowess at Kahuku.

"That's when I knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps," Jray said.

"I told him there's a lot of great athletes to come out of Kahuku," Ray Galeai said. "You have to create your own footsteps and do things your way. I know it's difficult to try to live up to other people. There's a lot of pressure sometimes. But if you do what you can do, control what you can control, which is work hard in class, the weight room, as well as on the field."

Ray Galeai said his son has lived up to expectations off the field with a grade point average of about 3.5 after the previous semester.

"He's done with his core classes and is taking some AP classes this year," Ray Galeai said.

Although Jray has a qualifying SAT score already "without even preparing for it," his father said, he will still retake the exam.

Even though Jray has verbally committed to BYU, his father told him to listen to what others have to say. But he will have to make his own decision, Ray said. Whatever choice the son makes, he will support him.

"As parents, just getting a full ride anywhere, whether it's University of Hawai'i, BYU or where ever the case might be, we're just proud of him he earned his own scholarship," Ray Galeai said. "We're just proud of him."