The injury to OU defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger in last weekend’s game against Washington occurred on the most controversial play of the season.
Three Husky offensive linemen — seemingly deliberately — ganged up on Granger, forced him to the ground and continued to scrap with him after he was down.
Now things have gotten worse, because Granger’s injury is more serious than originally believed.
At his weekly press conference Tuesday, head coach Bob Stoops said Granger had sprained his foot and could be back in two weeks, which would allow him to play in the Sooners’ next game against TCU.
On Wednesday, Stoops said Granger has suffered torn ligaments in his foot, which presents the coaches and training staff with two options.
The first option is to wait and allow the injury to heal on its own, which would take four to six weeks.
The other option would have Granger undergo surgery, which would sideline him for the rest of the season.
Stoops did not rule out surgery, but also would not definitively say that Granger will miss the season.
“Right now, DeMarcus and the doctors are still uncertain,” Stoops said. “I know it’s been reported that he’s done for the year [but] that isn’t the case yet.”
Granger has been a bruiser up front for the Sooners so far this season, helping break down the opposing offenses the Sooners have faced.
“He’s not a premier pass rusher, but he does have good strength and athleticism to push the pocket and collapse the pocket from the inside,” said defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
Granger’s play has seemed most important in third-down situations, but coaches said his presence will be missed most early in drives.
“His presence is felt on third down, but it’s really his loss on first and second downs to create third and longs [that we’ll miss],” Venables said. “He’s just a mainstay inside.”
Luckily for the Sooners, they have been using a rotation of players at defensive tackle, which will allow the defense to absorb the lost productivity more easily.
Sophomores Gerald McCoy and Adrian Taylor and senior Cory Bennett will continue as members of the rotation. Granger’s spot will be taken by junior Cordero Moore, who has played in one game this year and recorded one tackle.
“[Moore is] coming along and he’s gotten better, so he definitely now will get more snaps and figure into the plan,” Stoops said.
Defensive line coach Jackie Shipp said there will be no questions of going to the 3-4 setup instead of the 4-3 defensively and remains optimistic about Moore’s insertion into the lineup.
“I think he’ll do a good job, [he just needs to] keep working at it,” Shipp said.
Perhaps the one bright side of the equation is the fact that the Sooners have a bye week.
Moore will get a chance to see more snaps during practice in the week leading up to his first game as a major contributor.
Stoops admitted that Granger will be missed, but added that the team simply needs to move on.
“I mean I’d rather have him in there, but these things, as you go through the year, sometimes happen,” Stoops said. “It’s unfortunate, and I feel bad for DeMarcus because he really had a great game and was starting to come on.”
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spearce22 3 years, 8 months ago
Please keep us up to date on what the outcome of this injury is on both sides of the field. Many Sooner fans are livid over the fact that he was taken out on purpose. For him to lose a whole season due to the violence of an opponent is uncalled for.
TheJR 3 years, 8 months ago
I still can’t believe that a bigger deal wasn’t made about Granger being intentionally hurt. It was quite obvious this was the case. Why aren’t people talking more about it? A real shame.
cmoney 3 years, 8 months ago
Right on "TheJR." In the offensive huddle the washington O-Line preconceived a plan to intentionally injury DeMarcus and they should all be punished by the NCAA. It is infuriating that nothing is being done about this... it's just disgusting