Je’Twan Smith is ready to step up and put the Durant football team on his shoulders. It’s a good thing, because the Cougars’ premier offensive weapon is out with a shoulder injury.

With senior running back Ryan Rice expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks with a separated shoulder, Smith, a sophomore and the Cougars’ starting quarterback, is going to be relied upon even more as Durant enters its most important stretch of the season. The Cougars travel Friday to face Sarasota, the first of two crucial Class 6A-District 6 matchups that will occur in the next three weeks.

“He’s got to pick it up,” Durant coach Mike Gottman said. “Everybody’s got to pick it up a notch. Whenever you lose a player like Ryan, everybody else has got to pick it up.”

Smith seems ready to answer the call, at least in Gottman’s eyes. The Cougars coach noticed a much different player in Durant’s latest game against Brandon, a 10-0 Cougars victory. Smith put together his best game of the season in that win over the Eagles. He finished 5 of 7 passing for 61 yards and a touchdown, and added a season-high 51 yards rushing on 14 carries.

“Je’Twan got some confidence last week. It looked like the game slowed down for him,” Gottman said. “He controlled the game a lot better and it looked like he didn’t get frazzled.”

Smith, who has just five career starts under his belt, said he is growing more comfortable in his role each day. With extended film work and practice reps, he’s starting to pick up on some things that were giving him trouble early on.

“I’m picking up everything easier now,” Smith said. “I’m seeing everything much better now. I feel like we’re going to start to do much better [on offense].”

That would certainly help out the defense, which has played very well through the first half of the season. The Cougars have allowed an average of just 10.6 points per game and have not allowed more than 17 points in a game this season. The play of the linebackers – Billy Whitcomb, Ruben Garcia and Marshon Shoemake – is a big reason for the Cougars’ defensive success, Gottman said.

“All three of those guys are playing good, physical football,” Gottman said.