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