The St. Cloud Times’ Frank Rajkowski is reporting that senior All-American defensive tackle Nick Gunderson has been lost for the remainder of the 2008 season to a torn left ACL.
Gunderson is coming off a season in which he recorded 71 tackles, including 15 for a loss, 9.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 3 blocked kicks. He was named to the d3football.com All-America 2nd Team and All-West Region 1st Team in addition to being named to the All-MIAC 1st team. He led the MIAC in sacks and forced fumbles per game.
Gunderson recorded 4 four tackles against East Texas Baptist on Saturday before being injured, including one for a loss of yardage and two quarterback hurries. While Gunderson will be difficult to replace, the defensive line is, fortunately, a position of relative depth for the Johnnies. Expect juniors Jeff Bohlman, David Burns and Andrew Pierskalla to see increased playing time at the position.
Because of the timing of the injury, it is likely Gunderson will be granted a medical redshirt and maintain eligibility for 2009.
