NFL CAN SHOP AT UCLA FOR DEFENSIVE LINEMEN THERE ARE MORE THAN EVER BEFORE.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

Perhaps it's the powder blue uniforms or that long-ago tag of the Gutty Little Bruins. But if you're a UCLA defensive lineman with NFL aspirations, it hasn't been easy to find a role model.

Until now.

Three defensive linemen from UCLA could be on opening-day NFL rosters next weekend - tackles Rodney Leisle in New Orleans and Ryan Boschetti in Washington, and end Dave Ball in San Diego. End Mat Ball, Dave's twin and the Bruins' fourth starter a year ago, hopes to join the other three defensive linemen when he recovers from an injury.

Add them to veteran tackle Travis Kirschke in Pittsburgh and third-year end Kenyon Coleman in Dallas and you have the makings of a Westwood assembly line.

``UCLA has never been known for it's D-line and I don't know if it will be ever,'' Dave Ball said. ``But we had a really good defensive team our senior year, one of the best we've ever had, so that's a good feeling.''

UCLA has sent plenty of skill players to the NFL - Philadelphia cornerback Matt Ware and St. Louis linebacker Brandon Chillar are the latest in a long list that includes Troy Aikman, Freeman McNeil, Ken Norton, Jamir Miller, Freddie Mitchell and DeShaun Foster. But defensive linemen have been conspicuous by their absence.

From 1991 to 2001, UCLA had 34 players drafted and only one was a defensive lineman - Bruce Walker, a 1994 second-round pick who was cut by Philadelphia in training camp. Kirschke, undrafted in 1997, and retired Mike Chalenski, undrafted in 1993, are the only other Bruin defensive lineman to enter the NFL in that span.

If this latest shift marks a trend, it began when Bob Toledo, was hired as UCLA's coach in 1996. He made his top recruiting priority finding big, brutish defensive linemen - something the Bruins rarely had.

By the time Toledo was fired two years ago, he had reshaped the position.

``If I looked to my left and looked to my right, I thought I was playing next to somebody who could play in the NFL,'' said Boschetti, who spent 2 1/2 years at UCLA after transferring from a junior college. ``Dave led the nation in sacks, Rodney pushed the pocket no matter what and Mat did his job. I knew it wasn't the end of the road for them. While I could say that about them, you wonder about yourself.''

Still, Dave Ball and Leisle weren't drafted until the fifth round and Boschetti and Mat Ball signed as free agents. Mat Ball, still not fully recovered from a groin injury he suffered last December, was waived by Jacksonville in May when he failed his physical.

Boschetti, though, has made the most of his opportunity. In last month's Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, Boschetti teamed on a sack and his activity has caught the eye of Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

The Redskins carried six defensive tackles into their final exhibition game Friday, but at least one figures to be gone by Sunday when NFL rosters must be reduced to 53 players.

``Here's a guy who was way, way far off when he came in as a free agent,'' Williams said of Boschetti. ``He plays with a high energy level and I like that. We have liked what we've seen, he's pushed himself hard and hopefully he can get out there in this last (game) and dial it up.''

Even if Boschetti is waived, he'll likely be picked up by another team or added to someone's practice squad.

``The way I look at it is you're interviewing for a job every day,'' Boschetti said. ``If you're a first-rounder you can have a few bad days, but for everyone else, every day is an interview. You make sure you want to see your name autographed on your work every day.''

If Boschetti surprises some by sticking, the same can't be said for Leisle. A four-year starter at UCLA who was a well-chiseled 300-pounder as a freshman, Leisle planned on leaving for the NFL after his junior season until a broken foot lowered his stock.

He returned last year but battled injuries and struggled to return to form. Leisle is listed as a third-team nose tackle for the Saints but worked with the second team in exhibition games and likely will survive the cut.

For Dave Ball, that's not an issue.

Effort took him at long way at UCLA, where he tied for the NCAA lead with 16 1/2 sacks last season and earned All-America honors. It's getting him places with the Chargers, too.

In four exhibition games, he had four sacks - tied for the NFL lead.

Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said Ball must improve against the run, one reason why he lasted so long on draft day. But he's seeing progress and expects Ball to contribute on a young, rebuilding line.

``He has a very good understanding of the game,'' Schottenheimer said. ``I was a bit concerned (early in camp) about his ability to anchor and when the comment was made, he made the adjustment and it wasn't a problem.''

One thing that camp has done is convince Ball he belongs in the NFL. Not so long ago, he wasn't sure. He had seen Coleman, with the Adonis physique, become UCLA's first All-Pac-10 defensive lineman in 14 years, then struggle in Oakland and Dallas the past two seasons. He'd watched nose tackle Ken Kocher, the strongest Bruin in his four years on campus, fail to make it out of NFL camps the past three summers.

``How could those guys not dominate the way they dominated here?'' Ball said. ``That's what I thought when I was in school, but once you're here, you realize it doesn't matter how strong you are, it matters how good your technique is.''

Ball says he's not only playing for himself these days, but for his brother, too. They live together in San Diego and while Dave is preparing for the season, Mat is simply trying to get healthy.

The injury is only one setback that has separated the twins. Dave believes if Mat hadn't spent 1 1/2 years at linebacker at UCLA, they'd be in the same spot.

``I guess my ego feels that way, but you never really know what would have happened,'' Mat said. ``All anybody knows is what is now. I've had months to brood on what could have been, but that really never got me anywhere.''

Billy Witz, [phone]

billy.witz(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1) LEISLE

(2) BALL

(3) BOSCHETTI

(4) KIRSCHKE

Box:

DEFENSIVE ASSEMBLY LINE

Source: UCLA