Oliver already making an impact as freshman
Westfield product impresses players and coaches alike
Ed Oliver had just finished a play during a muggy morning practice when he made the kind of statement that, in most cases, would have been a plea for a breather.
“Coach, I can’t feel my legs,” Oliver told Houston coach Tom Herman.
“Do you need to come out?” Herman asked.
Oliver, a freshman defensive lineman from Westfield, shook his head no.
“He got in a three-point stance … and blew the next play up,” Herman said. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ He’s fun to watch.”
And if Houston has its way, Oliver will be a headache for opposing offenses for years to come.
UH’s highest-rated signee in the modern recruiting era is usually one of the last players off the field. He’ll plop his 6-2, 290-pound frame on a concrete slab after most practices, take off his helmet to catch a few moments of shade before going inside for more work. He also has a sense of humor: “We love you, Greg Ward,” Oliver yells in a high-pitch voice as UH’s star quarterback conducts interviews nearby.
Through two weeks of preseason camp, Oliver has lived up to the hype and figures to see plenty of the field this season, beginning with the Sept. 3 opener against third-ranked Oklahoma in what has all the makings of one of the biggest games in school history.
“He goes hard, man,” Herman said after a recent practice. “As physically gifted as he is, the best attribute Edhas is his motor. There is no off button.” ‘Unbelievable motor’
Exactly what you would expect from a five-star recruit and the No. 4 overall prospect in the nation who could have punched his ticket to any Power 5 school on the planet.
Instead, Oliver chose to stay close to home, play with older brother Marcus, a junior left tackle, and reunite with former Westfield coach Corby Meekins, now UH’s tight ends coach. Oliver’s commitment in May 2015, three months before the start of his senior season, was the first big recruiting splash under Herman, lending a boost of validation to the H-Town Takeover movement that eventually produced a 2016 class that was ranked 35th nationally.
“He plays with a tremendous amount of pride,” UH defensive line coach Oscar Giles said. “He has already developed some of our culture. He fits in that (meet- ing) room.”
Giles is cautious about heaping too much praise, too quickly, on Oliver.
“People always want to crown himthe king, but he’s still a work in progress,” he said.
Nobody knew what the Cougars were getting more than Meek ins, who coached Oliver for three of his four varsity seasons at Westfield. His first impression of Oliver as a high school freshman: “He was still all over the place.”
There were the obvious youthful signs in technique. By Oliver’s sophomore season, Meekins said there began to be signs he “had a chance to be special.”
“He had an unbelievable motor, unbelievable change of direction, unbelievable vision,” Meekins said. “He’s able to decipher stuff faster than anybody I’ve ever coached. That’s what makes him different.” ‘Going to be a handful’
As a senior, Oliver registered 83 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, nine sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception as Westfield went 9-3 and reached the Class 6A Division II area playoffs. Oliver was selected a second-team All-Ameri- can by USA Today and was Defensive MVP of the Under Armour All-America Game.
“Highly intense, very competitive,” said Klein Oak coach David Smith, who was in the same District 15-6A as Oliver and Westfield last season. “He was just powerful. That’s why nobody was able to manhandle him (in high school).”
Once Oliver arrived on the UH campus this summer it wasn’t long before Meekins came to one conclusion.
“The only thing I was waiting to see if it was going to carry over at this level because he’s been doing that to varsity football teams since he was a sophomore,” he said.
Asked if Oliver has lived upto expectations, Meekins smiled. “He’s going to be a handful,” he said.
How Oliver comes along in camp will determine how much he plays as a freshman. There’s no doubt he will see the field as UH likes to employ a six- to seven-man rotation. Oliver is working at all three positions on the defensive line.
“Whether Ed plays 27, 30 or 12 plays is up to Ed Oliver,” UH defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said at the start of camp. “We’re going to find a home for him.”
Oliver wasoneof the first freshmen to lose their helmet blue stripe, a tradition that officially welcomes newcomers to the team.
For now, Oliver has made a quick impression on teammates.
Senior defensive tackle B.J. Singleton calls him a “great fit for our defense.”
Sophomore defensive end Jerard Carter said Oliver already has earned trust in the locker room.
“It’s not his stars that makes him a great player,” Carter said. “Ed actually bought into the culture from day one before he even stepped on campus.”