On the front page of ESPN. Nice article.
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Good article, except for the fact they bring up the Cougar High thing.
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So I got the chance to meet Mr. Oliver. I waited a few minutes while two 20+ years old had at least 10 pieces for him to signed (reminded me of the Blue-emu commercial) He did not complain. The guys barely said thank you. I got to thank him and let him know that we were honored to have him as a Cougar. He had a big smile on his face. Got my picture with him. Not an ounce of an inflated ego.
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I got to meet his dad a couple of years ago walking in to the stadium. He overheard me talking about how excited I was about the possibility of getting him to sign with us and started asking me about him. At the end of the conversation he revealed he was Big Ed’s dad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more proud papa.
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The same can’t be said about JonnyCougar after being quoted in an ESPN article.
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Very cool, man.
I hope UH continues to have a family atmosphere so local high school kids can just visit on an ad hoc basis and get know their local school.
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“Only a 19-year-old sophomore, Oliver is already the anchor of a rebuilding program in a rebuilding city.”
UH is in a state of rebuilding? I don’t think you are in a rebuilding mode when 3 of your last 4 coaches are hired away by P5 teams in Texas due to their success and your program just beat two Top 5 teams in the prior season. Transition year due to the new coaches and schemes is what I consider it.
Maybe they needed both the program and city to be rebuilding to make the statement more profound. Anyway, good to have Big Ed recognized for what he does.
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The media narrative is that we are rebuilding this year because of the loss of Herman and Ward.
Wilson Whitley (may he rest in peace) wasn’t awarded the Lombardi trophy and named the SWC player of the decade for nothing. He didn’t beat double teams, he destroyed them.
As awesome and dominate as Wilson Whitley was, I never saw him run sideline to sideline or run down running backs in the secondary. Big Ed does that every game.
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really enjoyed this.
To ESPN…
Sincerely from the bottom of my heart,
me
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Wilson Whitley battled double teams his whole career and was known for his power and speed to run down backs and quarterbacks…I still remember his memorable game against TTech his senior year when he became Rodney Allison’s nightmare, especially in the fourth quarter when the Red Raiders were making a dramatic comeback.
As far as comparing Ed with Whitley it is very hard to do. Whitley was a one man wrecking crew and over powered offensive linemen while Ed is so cat quick and can play so many positions on the line. It would not surprise me to see Oliver play linebacker at the next level…
Eh, not just ESPN; every article from basically every outlet (except Bill Connelly and folks that actually cover the AAC like Underdog Dynasty) basically gave all the credit to Herman and, to a lesser extent, Ward.
Unfortunately, a lot of college football media is very hive-mind and narrative driven. You know, like “Texas is back.”
Nicely done, and nice cameo by Johnny. Can’t complain about the win from this weekend, either.
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