Durant seniors Ryan Rice and Cole Gilliam have some big opportunities this season, and considering they are a running back and offensive lineman, respectively, those opportunities will be a bit intertwined.

Rice has a chance to accomplish something no other Cougars player has one in school history. Rice, who rushed for 1,094 yards in 2007, can become the first player to post consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons.

It’s a feat the likes of former Durant standouts David Mahoney (the first player in school history with 1,000 yards in a season in 1997), Ean Randolph (who had 1,000 yards receiving in 2000 and 1,000 rushing in 2001), Matt Stwan (the school’s single-season record holder with 1,826 yards in 2004) and Trae Williams (a 1,000 yard rusher as a senior in 2002 who is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars) were unable to accomplish.

“I didn’t realize I had the chance to be the first guy,” Rice said. “I just play my hardest every play. My goal is to have 1,000 yards every year I get the ball. It starts with Cole and the hogs up front, so it’s mainly up to there success whether I get 1,000 yards or not.”

Rice (6-foot, 200 pounds) said he is fully recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered late in the 2007 season, which caused him to miss one game and parts of two others. He also says he, and his teammates, has put in the past the suspension he served in the spring for violating team rules.

“I’ve moved on,” he said. “Just some personal issues, not acting right, that’s the main thing. Everyone was fine with me coming back. They didn’t have any objection to it.”

As Rice said, Gilliam is likely to play a major role in him achieving the goal of reaching 1,000 yards again. And, if Rice reaches his goal, it could pay some dividends for the 6-foot-5, 315-pounder.

Gilliam currently holds scholarship offers from Elon and Florida International, but he has also received interest from major programs such as Florida State, Georgia, Florida and USF, school’s he attended camps at this summer.

“They all talked to me a lot,” Gilliam said. “They’re waiting on my film from this fall. They all want to see how I do this fall because they want to see how I progress. They say I’m not quite there yet, but they want to see how good I do this fall.”

Gilliam, in essence, considers this season somewhat as a tryout for the next level, and he’s hopeful that it will go well.

“There’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “I have to do good every game. If one game I don’t do good, there it goes. I have to do good every game or my shots are gone.”