University of Houston Athletics
Oliver Named to The American’s Fifth Anniversary Team
7/23/2018 3:02:00 PM | Football
The 2017 American Defensive Player of the Year is one of two active players on the team.
HOUSTON -- The league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and Rookie of the Year in 2016, Houston junior defensive tackle Ed Oliver was named to the American Athletic Conference's Fifth Anniversary Team on Monday.
Oliver is one of two active players in The American to be named to the team, joining Memphis' Tony Pollard.
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The Houston native burst onto the conference scene as a true freshman in 2016 when he started all 13 games en route to earning First Team All-America honors from seven national outlets after leading The American and finishing second nationally with 23 tackles for loss. He also led all defensive linemen nationally with nine pass breakups as he was named The American's Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Oliver continued his ascent to stardom in 2017 as the then-sophomore became the first underclassmen to win the Outland Trophy, presented annually to the nation's top interior lineman, while also laying claim to The American's Defensive Player of the Year honor. Also a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player, Oliver totaled 73 tackles in 12 games playing the nose spot in a three-man front despite missing three quarters of one game and being limited in the next four with a knee injury.
Named the nation's top college football player heading into the 2018 season by Sports Illustrated, Oliver is one of only three players nationally to be named to the preseason watch lists for both the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards.
Ed Oliver | Jr. | DT
2017 Outland Trophy Winner as the first underclassmen to win the award ... 2017 consensus All-American ... has 39.5 tackles for loss in his first two years, second best in NCAA history among all players and best among all defensive tackles ... leads all active players nationally with 1.56 tackles for loss per game ... Houston's leading returning tackler after totaling 73 stops in 2017 ... has 139 tackles through two years ... while playing the nose spot in a three-man front, totaled 73 tackles in 12 games, despite missing three quarters of one game and being limited in the next four with a knee injury ... recorded an average of 6.1 tackles per game which ranked third nationally among all defensive linemen ... his 73 total tackles ranked eighth nationally among all defensive linemen, second nationally among defensive tackles and 16.5 tackles for loss were second among defensive tackles while his average of 1.38 tackles for loss per game led all defensive linemen in The American ... led UH in tackles for loss (16.5), sacks (5.5), quarterback hurries (7), forced fumbles (2) and blocked kicks (1) ... also had three pass breakups and one fumble recovery ... recorded two double-digit tackle games, part of seven games with at least five tackles ... also tallied five games with multiple tackles for loss and now has 13 career games with the distinction.
