College Football Group of 5 Conferences preview 2017

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CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 15: Ed Oliver (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

G5 Defensive Player of the Year

DT Ed Oliver, Houston

Much like our Offensive Player of the Year selection, it’s difficult to single out one player as the Defensive Player of the Year for the Group of 5 conferences. Top edge rushers include Louisiana Tech’s Jaylon Ferguson, Shaquem Griffin at UCF, Hawaii’s Jahlani Tavai.

USF corner Deatrick Nichols is a pro prospect and playmaker, as is Wyoming safety Andrew Mingard. There’s also Temple’s Sean Chandler, BYU playmaker Fred Warner, Central Michigan DB Amari Coleman, San Jose State’s Andre Chachere, and tackling machine Auggie Sanchez from USF. But in terms of raw talent, Houston’s Ed Oliver stands alone.

Five-star high school recruits almost never choose to sign with Group of 5 college football programs. If a highly talented recruit ends up in the smaller FBS conferences, it’s usually after a transfer. However, before he moved on to Texas, Tom Herman was able to sign Oliver, who was rated as the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2016 recruiting class, the No. 3 defensive tackle prospect and the No. 2 player from the state of Texas. A Houston native, Oliver stayed home to play with the Cougars over offers from Texas A&M, Oklahoma, LSU and just about every other major program.

Oliver provided an immediate impact as well. He led the conference with 23.0 tackles for loss, and also recorded five sacks (two of them coming against Louisville and Heisman Trophy winning QB Lamar Jackson), along with 66 tackles and nine pass breakups at the line of scrimmage and three forced fumbles.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 290 pounds, Oliver is big enough and strong enough to be a solid run stopper, but he’s also athletic enough to line up on the outside and rush the quarterback on passing downs. He’s sure to see a ton of double- and triple-teams, but Oliver is talented enough to put up huge numbers regardless.

AAC Defensive Player of the Year: DL Ed Oliver, Houston
C-USA Defensive Player of the Year: DL Jaylon Gerguson, Louisiana Tech
G5 FBS Independents Defensive Player of the Year: LB Fred Warner, BYU
MAC Defensive Player of the Year: DB Amari Coleman, Central Michigan
Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year: LB Jahlani Tavai, Hawaii
Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year: DL Ja’Von Rolland-Jones, Arkansas State