Colorado St. Rams head football coach Jim McElwain is busy this spring converting the team's base 4-3 defensive scheme into a more fluid 3-4 defense, and several defenders are quite happy to make the switch from defensive end to outside linebacker. Kelly Lyell of Coloradoan.com notes that 6-foot-2, 236-pound Davis Burl is particularly happy about the transition to OLB in 2012:
"It's kind of my natural position, I think," Burl said after practice Thursday. "I was definitely happy to get off the D-line.
...Burl, who started four games and played in 11 at defensive end last fall, said he's been able to shed about 10 pounds because of the position switch and feels like that's helped him regain the speed that he used to set school records in both the 100- and 200-meter dash at Grandview High School in Aurora. He was a safety and running back on the football field there, helping the Wolves win a Class 5A state title in 2007, his senior year.
Related: Colorado State Football 2012: Rams Look To Get Offensive Line Healthy
Burl joins two other Rams players -- senior Broderick Sargent and redshirt freshman Brent Williams -- in making the switch from DE to OLB, so now it's up to the players to show they can get the job done.
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