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The return of American defensive stalwart Ed Oliver in Houston's Friday training against Memphis was cut short after he worsened his right knee injury, but that might not be the final match for the highly esteemed project of the NFL.
Oliver, who played in the first half of the Cougars' 52nd-31 loss to Memphis but did not play in the second half, said he intended to play in the Houston bowling game.
"As far as I know right now, yes," Oliver said when asked when he planned to play in a bowl. "I want to play every game."
Houston coach, Major Applewhite, said he did not believe that Friday is Oliver's last game.
"I do not think so," Applewhite said. "This is not the impression I've ever had of him."
Oliver had three tackles, a loss tackle and a split pass in his two quarters on Friday. The junior said that he had a knee injury in the first half and that it would have been available for a specific third-downhill package that the Cougars did not use in second half. The Memphis victory earned the Tigers a place in the US Track Conference championship game where they would face the 9th UCF.
November was a busy month for Oliver, who missed four games with a bruised right knee on Oct. 20 against the Navy. Oliver, who announced in March that it would be his last university season before qualifying for the NFL draft in 2019, attempted to play against Nov. 3 against SMU, and the team announced he would play, but he does not go through the pre-game warm-up and sits.
On November 15 against Tulane, Oliver and Applewhite had a dispute that was filmed after Applewhite asked Oliver – who was inactive – to remove a jacket that he wore that was reserved for active players. Oliver was seen angry shouting at Applewhite on the way to the locker room at half-time, and did not return to the sideline for the rest of the match. Oliver said the next day that it was "not who I am" and that he was caught in a moment of emotion; Applewhite said that they would learn from the incident and go ahead.
Oliver participated in the trials this week before Friday's game and was part of the starting lineup. He is currently No. 7 on Mel Kiper's latest Big Board of NFL prospects and is widely regarded as one of the top 10 choices in the next draft. In 2017, Oliver was an American player and became the first underclass to win the Outland Trophy.
While Houston (8-4, 5-3 AAC) was lagging behind in the fourth quarter Friday, Oliver appeared to be emotional on the sidelines. After the match, he tweeted, "I'm recovering right after that, I'm just great that it's Lord."
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