Carl Granderson (#91) against Nebraska earlier this season.
Wyoming announced on Tuesday that sophomore defensive end Carl Granderson would miss the rest of the season with a torn left ACL. Before the injury, Granderson was having a breakout year after putting on a considerable amount of good weight after playing undersized as a true freshman. In about five and a half games Granderson recorded 19 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 4 sacks.
This is a big blow to the Cowboys as the defensive end position doesn’t have as much depth or size as the coaching staff would like. Who is in line to receive more playing time with Granderson’s injury? Read below to find out.
Nela Lolohea (6-1, 253)
Lolohea is the back-up to Granderson and should become the starter and receive most of the playing time at the left rush end position. The junior college transfer from El Camino college in California had a productive campaign last year recording 56 tackles, five sacks and 11.5 tackles-for-loss before transferring to Wyoming. With increased playing time against Air Force, Lolohea recorded three tackles giving him seven for the season. He also had a sack in the 45-22 win over UC-Davis in the third week of the season.
Shiloh Windsor (6-3, 223)
The plan for the true freshman from Oklahoma who was recruited by Ohio and Tulsa out of high school was to redshirt. The coaching staff has dressed him for five games this season in case of injury. That injury has now taken place and it looks like Windsor is the front runner to get the rotational playing time behind Lolohea the rest of the season. Windsor has good size to play the position and should benefit from the experience of playing time. Windsor was a high school linebacker so he should have good upfield speed at the DE position.
Adam Kinder (6-2, 252)
A senior from California, Kinder has played in one game in his career during the 2014 season and hasn’t recorded any statistics. Kinder has the size to play the defensive end spot and will get a good look from the coaching staff in practice before the game at Nevada. There is a chance he could receive some playing time in short yardage situations because of his size and maturity.