LINCOLN — P.J. Smith felt like he needed a little space.

Nebraska starting safety Larry Asante was down. Husker graduate assistant Ross Watson was telling Smith it was time to go Saturday night.

And his teammates, although well-meaning, were sort of getting in his way.

“Everybody came and tapped me on my shoulder and I’m like, ‘Man, can you guys just leave me alone? Let me just focus right now,’” Smith said. “The more they would do that, the more you would get excited.’’

Smith wrestled with settling himself down and being ready when he replaced Asante with just more than six minutes left in the second quarter against Louisiana-Lafayette. He was flagged for pass interference on his second play.

“After that I calmed down,’’ Smith said. “I know the things I did well, and I know the things I did bad. So I need to work on that.’’

The Asante injury thrust Smith into the most significant playing time of his redshirt freshman season Saturday night. While coach Bo Pelini has said Asante is fine this week, another safety, Rickey Thenarse, is expected to miss playing time after injuring a knee Saturday.

That means the Huskers likely will need someone to step in behind Asante and Matt O’Hanlon at safety as they open Big 12 play with games against Missouri and Texas Tech.

“When I first got here, I knew I had to be patient,’’ Smith said. “Everybody wants to come in and play, but you can’t do that all the time. Right now, I’m still patient. Whenever they need me, I have to go in and try to do my best and help the team win.’’

Smith, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from River Ridge, La., contributed the first three weeks on special teams and was rewarded by being named a team captain for the Louisiana-Lafayette game.

At safety, he said, practice reps with the No. 1 defense every so often have helped with his development.

NU assistant coach Marvin Sanders had told him Saturday morning that the Huskers intended to rotate more players into the secondary, so Smith was prepared to play.

That plan didn’t account for Asante’s ankle injury on the 74-yard interception return that put Nebraska ahead 34-0.

“I saw him start limping, but I didn’t think it was that bad,’’ Smith said. “Then when he laid down I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I’m up.’”

Smith said he took all he could from practicing and playing behind three seniors. The three players who were keeping him off the field were going to be a valuable resource when he got on it.

“I talk to them every day,’’ Smith said. “Matty is the old man of the group and he’s smart. Larry, he’s quick reading stuff. And Rickey, he’s just a ball hog. He loves to hit. So he’s right there going, ‘P.J., let’s go, man. Let’s go hit. Let’s go get after them.’

“So all three of them help me out in a big way. And even if they can’t play right now, they’re still going to be beside me and tell me what to do to help me. But I think I got it.’’

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

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