If the New Orleans Saints’ season keeps going as well as its first six games, and Scott Shanle keeps playing as well as he has, there is a major concern 2-year-old Jagger Shanle could end up saying “Y’all,” enjoying grits for breakfast and cheering “Who Dat?”

“My mom and my brother (Husker Andrew Shanle) have joked that my son will have a Southern accent if we stay here too long,” said Shanle, who starts at linebacker for the 5-1 Saints.

But that would be a good problem.

Shanle, the former Husker from St. Edward, was traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Saints just before the NFL regular season started.

While the Cowboys are struggling, the Saints have helped themselves to first place in the NFC South after impressive victories against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons, among others.

Shanle and the rest of the Nebraska connection — starting defensive back Josh Bullocks and backup defensive back and special- teams player DeJuan Groce — have played an important role in the team’s rejuvenation.

“We have some K-State guys like Mark Simoneau, who talk about the Huskers being down lately. We all remind him, ‘How many national  championship trophies in your trophy case at K-State?”

Shanle said he follows the Huskers closely and has high expectations for the team this  year. He is gaining the same feelings for the Saints.

“I didn’t know what this team expected of itself when I got here just six days before the opener,” Shanle said. “But I see there is a lot of confidence and so much emotion that the Saints are really a very good team.”

There are three key factors behind the enthusiasm in New Orleans.

“One, they did not have pro football for a year and when the Saints came back people jumped on because it was a big source of positive feelings for the area,” Shanle said. “Two, there’s a new head coach and new approach. And three, Reggie Bush. He’s a good guy, a hard worker and the most agile running back I’ve ever seen. At full speed, he can almost stop, change direction and get back to full speed faster than anybody I know.”

Shanle, 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, had 3, 34 and 20 tackles in respective seasons with the Cowboys. He already has 27 tackles and two quarterback sacks in six games for the Saints. He was the key defensive against Carolina when he posted a key sack of Jack Delhomme.

“I had no idea of what they were doing here on defense when I first came but I’m getting comfortable with the system now,” Shanle said. “My linebacker coach, Gary Gibbs, was with the Cowboys and our head coach, Sean Payton, was with the Cowboys, too.

“They knew what I can do and they’re letting me do it. I have a lot more freedom in this 4-3 system. At Dallas, in the 3-4, I had to take on the 325-pound offensive guards on most running plays and I had to keep going against those big guys every play. Here, I have the defensive linemen taking on the guards and I get to make the plays.”

For Bullocks, the confidence is also building, Shanle said.

“I know the coaches like what they see in Josh because he makes so many big plays. He’s just in his second year but he’s going to be around the NFL a long time. And DeJuan is going to contribute more and more here, too.”

For Shanle the move from Dallas to New Orleans (actually Kenner) was not hard.

“I didn’t have much time to settle in, but we have an apartment for my wife and son and I and it’s pretty good,” he said. “The area we live in wasn’t too badly damaged by Katrina. But going to the Superdome you drive by a lot of boarded-up businesses and a lot of places there is no sign that anybody is ever coming back.

“I talk with a lot of people down here and I think they’re going to get a lot done because they really are trying. It’s great to think the Saints have helped in a lot of ways.”

Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or at khambleton@journalstar.com.