Oklahoma State DE Vili Leveni Suffers Season Ending Injury

Oklahoma State lost a key cog in one of the most productive units of the defense on Saturday, as Mike Gundy announced that redshirt junior defensive end Vili Leveni suffered a season-ending injury during the game against Kansas State.

“We lost Vili today,” Gundy said after the game via The O’Colly. “Vili’s got an injury and he’s out for the year. We were kind of down one guy there.”

Leveni was a key piece along the defensive line for the Pokes, as he provided a versatility that allowed OSU to plug him in both at defensive tackle and defensive end.

There has yet to be an official report on the nature of the injury suffered, but it is worth noting that he also suffered a season ending injury last year that forced him to miss the entire football season.

Glenn Spencer was bummed out about the whole thing.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry, Coach. My bad,'” Spencer told the Tulsa World after the game. “Are you kidding me? I just hugged his neck and said, ‘You don’t have to be sorry about anything. You’re out there fighting, man, you’re a warrior.’ Yeah, he said that to me. I couldn’t believe that. That’s just how bad he wants to be out there.”

This season, he racked up two sacks, and twelve tackles, and will now leave OSU dangerously thin at defensive end, with Jordan Brailford also still out after suffering an injury in the preseason.

Cole Walterscheid and Jarrell Owens have taken over as starters, and with Leveni out, it’s likely that junior college transfer Tralund Webber and redshirt sophomore Trey Carter will see their playing time increased over the final weeks of the season.