By Chadd Cripe
ccripe@idahostatesman.com

Sophomore defensive end Ryan Winterswyk has regained his speed and agility in recent weeks — and it has shown in his productivity.

Winterswyk has seven tackles, two sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble in the past three games. He had half a sack and one pass breakup in his first three games.

He had arthroscopic knee surgery the day before the opener against Idaho State. He played 15 days later against Bowling Green.

“I’m getting in my groove,” Winterswyk said. “The first few games, my knee wasn’t 100 percent and now it’s feeling great. I’m back to full speed. My speed rush is there now.”

Winterswyk noticed a difference in practice three weeks ago, right before the Southern Miss game. He responded with two sacks — ending a three-game drought.

“Sometimes you go through a move and you plant and you don’t have all the power you want,” he said. “That was frustrating.”

Winterswyk will try to help fill the leadership void from the loss of senior defensive tackle Steven Reveles, who was the tone-setter on the defensive line with his relentless attitude. Winterswyk has a similar approach.

“He’s kind of like a little bit of the heart and soul of the D-line,” Winterswyk said. “He gets everyone going. … He’s the one guy on the D-line that never, ever took a play off. We’re going to have to work that much harder — every play go super hard. We’ll be missing his enthusiasm.”