SECOND TO NONE
Houston has no shortage of A-list stars, and Cougars defensive lineman Ed Oliver ranks right up there
HOUSTON was stripped across his front and back in large white letters.
A tight red jersey was pulled up to his shoulder pads.
And as I moved closer and closer to the best amateur defensive lineman in the country, my initial thought only kept repeating itself: Ed Oliver is totally for real.
“A lot of people have plans,” he said, two days before Major Applewhite coached his first home game for the Cougars. “But to fulfill and continue to build on what I was trying to do, it’s satisfying.”
Our big city is overloaded with sports stars.
J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson.
Jose Altuve, Justin Verlander, Carlos Correa and a growing collection of playoff-bound Astros.
James Harden and Chris Paul both wearing red.
Heck, even the owners have serious flash. Tilman Fertitta stood near the oversized UH at midfield Saturday night, before the Cougars torched Rice 38-3 in the Bayou Bucket. The expected new Rockets owner gripped a football minutes before advertisements for a casino circled TDECU Stadium. Inspired by his dad
Oliver is tackling his way onto Houston’s star list. He’s also the most underrated big name in this overloaded city.
“I’m the star of the city,” Oliver said. “What you talking about?”
You see what I mean? A 6-3, 290-pound sophomore proudly wearing HOUSTON already gets it.
“Naw, I’m just playing,” Oliver said. “It’s a lot of big names. A lot of good athletes in this city.”
Just 19 months after he took Tom Herman’s initial takeover to a critical new level — Oliver sided with his hometown Cougars, turning down everyone from Alabama, Notre Dame and Oklahoma to Texas A&M, LSU and Herman’s future school — UH’s huge No. 10 is a no doubt NFL first-rounder in waiting.
The Owls devoted a double team to Oliver throughout the first half. Which made perfect sense, since the preseason 2017 Associated Press All-American answered his seven national All-American honors last season by collecting 11 tackles, 1½ sacks and a forced fumble in the Cougars’ season-opening victory at Arizona.
Where does all his fire come from?
“I just wanted to be the best at anything I ever did,” said Oliver, who recorded six tackles (one for loss) and a forced fumble Saturday. “I never was the best at anything until I played football.”
Then he paid tribute to his father, Ed Oliver Sr.
“I used to always be around him and be up under him 24-7,” Oliver said. “He used to remodel homes. I used to always want to go with him and help him work.
“He just instilled work in me at a young age. When a football coach was like, ‘You’ve got to do this and this and this,’ it wasn’t really a problem.”
As a freshman, Oliver ended up as the best thing about an uneven 2016 UH squad.
A season-opening victory against then-No. 3 Oklahoma and 5-0 start ended up as 9-4 and a bowl-game blowout loss, with Herman ultimately choosing Austin over Houston. Oliver kept fighting through all the noise, ending up with 66 tackles (23 for loss), five sacks, nine pass deflections and three forced fumbles. ‘I want to be the best’
How does the former Westfield star envision all this ending up?
“I want to be the best of every category that you can think of,” he said. “I want to be the best — the best everything.”
The special ones ooze pure confidence. Oliver observes the NFL’s current and past greats. But he acknowledged that he doesn’t obsess over videos, constantly dissecting the smoothest moves.
There’s old-school truth in Oliver’s talent. There’s also the realization that he’s a modern hybrid already playing in his own unique world.
With the Cougars kicking Rice into the bucket early — 24-0 with 12 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first half — Oliver set up another UH touchdown by forcing his way into the backfield, suddenly changing direction, then racing 15 yards downfield to destroy Owls quarterback Sam Glaesmann and force another fumble.
Oliver doesn’t believe that anybody “plays like me.” So when he watches a pro playing his position, he simply borrows a little from a fellow lineman and adds a new weapon to his arsenal.
“If I see a play they make, I’m like, ‘How he did that?’ or what allowed him to do that, or what the offensive guard did or the tackle did,” Oliver said.
When you’re this special this fast, how do you remain humble?
“The coaches here, they’ve got what they call a 24-hour rule, and I just do that with everything,” Oliver said. “Enjoy it for the time being. And the next day is the next day with anything — good, bad, ugly.”
But all the national stories and fawning praise. He has to secretly adore that, right?
“Actually, I try to stay out of the way of interviews. I’m not a big guy that’s going to say, ‘Yeah, I’m this, I’m that,’ ” Oliver said. “I just like to play football. And this comes with it — there ain’t no way around it. I mean, I could be sorry and then no one else would want to interview me. But I want to be good at football, so this comes with it.”
Oliver is great right now in the home he didn’t leave. No wonder he’s so proud to wear HOUSTON across the front and back of his jersey.
“It was my plan from the getgo,” said the city’s next big name. brian.smith@chron.com twitter.com/chronbriansmith