UL looking to Leger and Burkhalter in 2005

<! Baton Rouge area plaers hope to fill needs for Cajuns ><blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. -- There are two positions -- on opposite sides of the football -- where University of Louisiana at Lafayette coach Rickey Bustle is looking to strengthen his team.

Bustle is confident about his first-team offensive line, one he said might be his best in four years, and really likes starting middle linebacker Mark Risher.

After that the picture gets a little dicey, Bustle said, because of either a lack of experience or shortage of personnel.

That's where former Baton Rouge area standouts Zach Leger and Brenton Burkhalter come in. The pair has aspirations of helping to fill the needs for ULL, which holds its second major scrimmage at 8:15 a.m. today.

Leger, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound sophomore who played at Bishop Sullivan, entered the program in 2003 as a tackle, then moved to left guard in the spring before being switched to right guard behind senior Justin Ernest.


"It's not that bad with the way our line works,'' Leger said of his recent position move. "You kind of have to know what the guy next to you is doing. It wasn't that bad of a transition. I'm more of a right-handed guy, so I actually had an awkward stance when I'm on the left side. That's about the biggest difference for me. You just have to reverse the plays in your head."

Burkhalter (6-foot, 230 pounds) is just as eager to return to a playing role after redshirting a year ago. He's backing up Risher, a sophomore, and is listed ahead of fellow redshirt freshman Joseph Hadnot.

"I picked it (the system) up pretty quick,'' Burkhalter, a former Parkview Baptist star, said. "I actually learned a lot of it during camp last year. I understand a lot of it. There's still times where I'll second-guess myself or do the wrong thing. But I think it's going pretty good so far."

Bustle said Risher and Burkhalter have combined to make a good tandem in the middle of the Ragin' Cajuns' defense.

"As of right now it's just those two guys and both of those guys are doing a good job,'' he said. "He (Burkhalter) has got to realize that he's got to get better and hopefully as the season goes he'll play more and more."

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By WILLIAM WEATHERS
wweathers@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter <!--

The transition to college has required its share of patience for Burkhalter, who established himself as one of the state's best linebackers at Parkview Baptist over his final two seasons. He was named to the Class 3A all-state team as a junior and senior, earning defensive MVP honors his final year.

"It's kind of different,'' Burkhalter said of redshirting last season. "Mark's a good linebacker, a good guy to learn from. I'm still kind of young and I'm still learning the defense. I can learn from Mark. He's a guy that will bring me along even though knows he knows we're competing and I'm pushing him."

Burkhalter has already found a home on ULL's special teams, a phase of the game Bustle underscores daily.

"He does move well, he's tough enough,'' Bustle said of Burkhalter. "He's a good tackler and that's what you want on those teams. We're very happy with him. We want to see him keep coming. I think he's a talented young man and we're excited about him.''

Burkhalter's responsibilities on special teams include kickoff coverage, punt block and punt return.

"I'm ready to play; I'm ready to step in any chance they want me to,'' Burkhalter said. "I'm on special teams and I'm working hard on those. I just want to do anything I can to help the team."

Leger played in eight of UL-Lafayette's 11 games last season, all in a reserve role.

"He's a key guy because our second offensive line is very inexperienced,'' Bustle said of Leger. "Zach's a guy that's probably been here the longest of the (second) group. He's given us good leadership, he's working hard. We just need to see that improvement so that we all feel better. The one thing we know is that he's going to give us all he's got.''

Leger's mindful of the number of plays UL-Lafayette's starting offensive line was forced to play last season because of the Cajuns' lack of depth and the toll it certainly took on them as games wore on.

"We don't like to have to see our starters go a whole game and be tired when we could roll out and keep each other fresh, (and) still have a functioning mind to get the job done,'' Leger said. "It's a different type thing from being on the sideline and actually rolling into the games and getting some snaps. Going through it would be nice.''

Leger's ready to build on his promising performance in UL-Lafayette's scrimmage by demonstrating once again today that he's earned the right to be on the field more this season.

"I just have to work hard and prove to them I know what I'm doing and that I can do what they want to get done,'' Leger said. "I have the confidence that they'll make the right decisions on what to do.''
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