The former Houston standout answered all questions at the combine

UH's Ed Oliver aiming to "change the whole defense" when drafted

UH's Ed Oliver aiming to "change the whole defense" when drafted
Cody Stoots/SportsMap

"Just the different swag I could bring to a d-line could probably change the whole defense honestly."

The words of Ed Oliver his next team will hope ring true with every snap he takes in the NFL. Speaking Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine, Oliver covered everything from the rumors of a position change to his relationship with both of the former Cougars head coaches.

The reports surfaced early Saturday Oliver had been asked to work out at linebacker in addition to his defensive line workouts. The future top-ten pick didn't shy away from the additional challenge.

"I've asked myself to play linebacker too," Oliver joked. "I'm a very athletic defensive tackle. You never know. I might end up playing linebacker in the league. I'm not going to object to it. I feel like I'm a d-lineman. I feel like I'm a 3-technique, but if they pay me to play linebacker that's what I'm gonna be doing, playing linebacker."

The Tennessee Titans asked Oliver to play outside linebacker in his meeting with the team.

While his positional future is up in the air his past came up. Oliver was seen in a shouting match with then Houston head coach Major Applewhite in the team's defeat of Tulane on national TV last season. What does he say when NFL teams ask him about the dust up?

"I answer like I've always answered," he said. "I answer 100 percent truthfully. It was what it was, it was a misunderstanding, we hashed it out a day later. I still keep in touch with Coach Applewhite, and he was my head coach."

Oliver said he still stays in touch with his first head coach at Houston, Tom Herman, the now Texas head coach.

"When (Herman and his staff left) I was proud of him," he said. "As a man you always want to better yourself and he left to better himself."

Oliver has been working to better himself towards an NFL career for years. Just last year he was projected to be the first overall pick in this year's draft but the chances of that are nearly gone.

"You're not the number one pick until you're drafted number one," he said. "I pretty much knew the size thing was going to come up so I never got into it."

Regardless of where he goes and who plays for or against Oliver plans to showoff his playing style which he detailed as fast and violent.

"I do everybody the same way," Oliver said. "Rather your TSU (Texas Southern) or Oklahoma my first game of college football. I play every game the same way just as violent just as fast just as hard."

The Oliver family will take in the draft from home despite the chance he could be one of the first players out of the green room if he attended the draft in Nashville. He said they will "rock out together as a family."

His family is what got him into horses at a young age. He saw someone riding a horse and requested one from his dad. Weeks later he had a horse of his own and still has a couple. He's also got a clear investment plan that aligns with his love of animals.

[ia_video https://s3.amazonaws.com/roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/runner%2F9316-IMG_9661.MOV source="https://s3.amazonaws.com/roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/runner%2F9316-IMG_9661.MOV" caption="Ed Oliver retirement plan" attribution="Cody Stoots" videoControls=true shortcode_id=1551571562263 expand=1 ]

NFL teams are probably hoping Oliver is as ferocious as his eventual money-making steers.

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How Texans' CJ Stroud got the last laugh on Panthers entire organization

When Bryce Young and CJ Stroud were drafted with the first two picks of the NFL Draft, we knew they would be compared to one another for years to come.

And here we are just 11 games into the season and one quarterback has already seen his head coach fired. Panthers owner David Tepper spoke to the media on Wednesday and discussed his decision to fire Frank Reich, and also set the record straight on how they arrived at the decision to draft Young.

In so many words, Tepper basically blamed the Texans for how the top of the draft played out. He mentioned Stroud by name and said the Panthers were ready to draft him at No. 2 overall until the Texans backed out of the three-team trade with the Bears.

Tepper made a point of saying everyone in their building had Bryce Young as the top player on their draft board, despite rumors about Frank Reich preferring Stroud.

CJ Stroud and the Texans have been so much better than Bryce Young and the Panthers that Tepper clearly felt it was necessary to defend himself, and the decisions he's made for the organization.

In the end, the person that gets the worst end of the deal is Bryce Young. Coaching changes can be very difficult on young quarterbacks. And it looks like he'll have to learn a new offense in his second year when the Panthers hire a new coaching staff.

How fortunate we are as Texans fans to have DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud leading the team moving forward.

With all of this in mind, is there a reason Texans fans haven't fully bought in to the new-look Texans? JJ Watt was a guest on The Pat McAfee Show this week and was asked about the team's inability to fill the stadium on Sundays.

As a former player for the Colts, McAfee always thought Houston had the loudest and best fans in the NFL. And while the Texans are 9th in attendance this year according to ESPN, even CJ Stroud has asked for the fans to fill the stadium.

So there is something to it. You can see the empty seats in photos. So why aren't the Texans packing NRG with a shiny new franchise QB?

We believe the recent history of the team is why fans are slowly coming back. McAfee wasn't here for:

Bill O'Brien cussing at fans during games

Trading DeAndre Hopkins away for next to nothing

The Jack Easterby disaster

Deshaun Watson allegedly blaming ownership for why he wanted out

The Deshaun Watson scandal

Firing back-to-back coaches after one season, and the list goes on.

Don't miss the video above for the full conversation!

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