No reason for Oliver to return, risk health
UH should respect, support whatever decision star makes
Ed Oliver was slated to make his final appearance at TDECU Stadium on Thursday.
With the Cougars hosting Tulane in their last home game of the season, it would have been Oliver’s last hoorah before UH finishes out its schedule on the road.
Now that the defensive tackle has been ruled out of his fourth straight game with a knee injury, that won’t be the case.
Since Oliver made clear his intention to enter the 2019 NFL Draft before the season started, there was no mystery as to when his days in a Cougars uniform would end.
No one was expecting that to be Oct. 20, however, when he suffered a knee injury against Navy.
With an NFL career looming and UH’s American Athletic Conference title aspirations resting on the hope SMU loses another game, Oliver should focus on his knee and his recovery rather than coming back to play for the Cougars.
Oliver, likely a top-five pick in the draft, has a lot to think about before he goes back on the field.
His bruised right knee is obviously a problem. Coach Major Applewhite said Oliver practiced last week before the knee started bothering him during warm-ups Saturday.
He is going to be good at the next level. Further injury to his
knee could hold him back.
At 7-3, the Cougars have no chance at playing for a national championship or in a New Year’s Six bowl. They need SMU to lose even to have a chance at playing in the AAC Championship Game.
Oliver’s loyalty to UH always has been commendable. He was one of the nation’s top recruits out of Westfield High School and elected to stay at home to play in college.
Hopefully, UH’s program will protect Oliver and his knee in the final weeks of the season. On Monday, Applewhite said whether Oliver returns is up to him.
As a former player, Applewhite understands Oliver’s situation.
“A lot is going through your head when all of your notoriety, all of your attention, is because of your level of play,” Applewhite said. “And then you can no longer play the game that you love. It is very difficult. We see these guys make great plays on the field, and we seem them as invincible. So it’s difficult.”
Of course Oliver wants to come back. Had he not banged up his knee, this conversation wouldn’t even exist. Prior to the season, he told Bleacher Report he never considered the idea of sitting out as a junior to avoid injury.
“I love the game too much,” he told the publication. “I can’t sit there and watch my guys go to war while I’m chillin’ on the bench. When we’re grinding the whole offseason together, I’m gonna sit on the bench?”
When he made his intentions to enter the draft clear, he also said he planned to play in UH’s bowl this year. Again, that was prior to an injury that seems to be lingering.
His situation brings up an interesting question and points to a trend in college football today. Players like Oliver who have a bright NFL future have every right to think twice before playing in meaningless games. So it has been understandable in recent years when top players have opted to skip out of bowls without championship implications.
Now, the idea goes beyond skipping bowls. A few weeks ago, another top-tier college player —Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa — withdrew from the university to focus on rehabilitating an injured core muscle and prep for his NFL career.
“You wonder if (Bosa is) going to be a trendsetter with this,” former Texas Longhorn and NFL cornerback Rod Babers said. “It’s an ongoing argument between labor and management.”
Babers, who hosts a sports talk radio show in Austin, said he’s seeing the same with the new rule that allows players to maintain a year’s eligibility if they don’t exceed four games in a season.
“I think student-athletes are seeing where they have some rights,” he said. “And they are starting to take control. I support that.”
Babers was a fourth-round draft pick out of UT in 2003. He said if he’d been injured and projected as a first or second rounder, he would have skipped games and gone on.
“I think these guys have to make a business decision,” he said. “Playing in college is great. Playing in bowl games, too. Those are some of the best experiences I’ve ever had. But still, you have to make the smart choice.”
The window to maximize profitability in the NFL is limited. According to its players association, the average career span of an NFL player is 3.3 years.
Oliver can’t risk hurting himself further and shortening his time at the next level.
“You’ve worked your whole life for it,” Babers said. “You’ve dreamt of playing football forever.”
Oliver has been incredible for UH. And it’s hard to picture the Cougars without him.
But if his knee injury is bad enough to keep him out of four games, he should take the rest of the season off. And UH should fully support him.
He’ll still be a UH legend, and he will be taking care of himself so he can be one in the pros as well.