Ed Oliver Named All-America by Scout
12/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON â€" Houston freshman defensive tackle Ed Oliver added yet another line to his expanding resume Thursday as Scout named the Houston native to its First Team All-America list and its National Freshman of the Year.
For Oliver, his appearance on the Scout's All-America list is his ninth overall, joining First-Team mentions from the Associated Press, CBS, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Sporting News and Second Team mentions from the FWAA and AFCA.
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Oliver, The American Athletic Conference's Rookie of the Year and one of only two unanimous picks to the league's All-Conference Team, currently leads the nation with 23 tackles for loss and led all defensive linemen nationally with nine pass breakups. Playing out of the tackle spot on a three-man line, he is currently second nationally among all defensive linemen with 47 solo tackles and is fifth among all defensive linemen nationally with 66 total tackles.
Oliver's 66 tackles led all freshmen in The American, regardless of position, and all freshmen defensive linemen nationally. His five sacks led all freshmen in The American while his nine pass breakups rank fifth in the league, regardless of position. Oliver also led Houston and finished second in The American with three forced fumbles, a number that ranked second nationally among freshmen.
The freshman became the first player from the Houston program to earn First Team All-America honors since center Ben Fricke earned First Team honors from the FWAA in 1997.
Oliver was also named the winner of the 2016 Bill Willis Award last week, presented annually to the nation's top defensive lineman by the Touchdown Club of Columbus.
