Ed Oliver has contributed a lot in his two seasons at Houston. In fact, he’s poured in 139 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 39.5 TFLs, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 12 passes defended.
But he has not caught or rushed the ball.
That’s about to change.
Speaking at AAC media days on Tuesday, Major Applewhite said Houston will work to get the ball to its All-American defensive tackle as many times as possible this fall.
On Ed Oliver and his Heisman hopes, Houston HC Major Applewhite said that he will definitely be part of the offense: will run the ball, might catch, pass, and kick the ball. Applewhite says that you "want to get the ball in your best player's hands."
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) July 24, 2018
In an age where the “best overall player” award goes to the best quarterback on a CFP-contending team, Houston will have to get creative and lucky for college football’s actual best overall player to be in contention. The last Heisman winner to be a defensive-first player was Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997, and he also played offense and special teams. The last Heisman winner from a Group of 5 school was BYU’s Ty Detmer in 1990.