Around this time a year ago, Andre Huval was still trying to figure it all out.

So too, for that matter, was the entire UL offensive line.

"That’s why we started off so slow, I think, last year," Huval said. "We didn’t have any chemistry."

But the learning curve was especially steep for Huval, a St. Thomas More High product who at the time was transitioning from guard to center.

Jump ahead to the present, however, and things are oh-so-different.

Four of UL’s five starters on the line — Huval, tackle Leonardo Bates, tackle Jaron Odom and guard Daniel Quave — are back, and none of the four missed a start during a 9-4 season in 2012.

Huval was named in July to the 49-man Rimington Trophy Watch List for most outstanding center in NCAA Division-1 football.

And the 6-foot-1, 290-pound junior has turned into even more of a vocal presence — on the field, and off — than he had the gumption to be when making his first few snaps.

"I’ll tell you: Andre’s developed a little bit of toughness. I like his attitude," Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Mark Hudspeth said this week. "I think he’s turned into a guy that you can count on to lead those guys. He’s very smart. He knows his checks, he knows his IDs, and he’s doing a great job for us."

"I just see him, at certain times, taking that whole group and melding them, or putting them wherever they need to be put, and doing a tremendous job," UL offensive coordinator Jay Johnson added. "He’s a year older, a year more mature, and I’m really pleased so far with what he’s doing up front."

Playing 925 of 936 possible offensive plays over the course of a season can help a guy that way.

"Experience makes us all better, and obviously that year of starting 13 straight games has had a lot to do with his development," Hudspeth said. "That’s why he’s on (the watch list) — because he’s worked hard, and he’s earned everything he’s gotten.

"He’s a kid I’m really, really proud of."

To ease the transition for Huval, Johnson said the Cajuns "schematically scaled things down."

It evidently has helped.

"Andre’s done an exceptional job," Johnson said. "He’s a guy for us that really is getting us all on the same page, so (what he does is) really very critical."

Huval, however, isn’t letting any of that get to his head.

He knows eyes are watching, but doesn’t want expectations to get in the way of the task ahead.

"It’s nice having the preseason accolade," Huval said, "but you’ve got to go out and work and just try to get better every day."

Better individually.

Better at working together, too.

That is why Huval — a two-time high school all-state pick who played in nine games at guard, including one start at Ohio, in as a true freshman in 2010 — is making the most of opportunities to speak up when need be.

"I’m always vocal," he said. "Just the nature of the (center) position, I’m instructing the offensive line and everybody else with their protections."

Now, though, it goes beyond mere training-camp practices and game situations.

That is especially the case in Huval’s dealings with UL’s younger linemen, including redshirt freshman guard Mykhael Quave, who is expected to plug the o-line hole left vacant by graduated senior Kyle Plouhar.

"You’ve always got to try to encourage them "» because they’re gonna make mistakes," he said. "We have a fast-tempo offense, and we don’t always 15 seconds to communicate to everyone."

Huval found that out the hard way, one year ago.

"Even the veterans will all make them sometimes," he said. "We’ve got to bring each other up."