'I didn't expect this much': How OSU's Collin Oliver surprised himself with spectacular freshman season
Scott WrightOklahoman
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Collin Oliver sat down behind the microphone with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up, hiding his long dreadlocks. But it couldn’t hide his 19-year-old, happy-to-be-here smile.
The true freshman defensive end was appearing for his first press conference since arriving at Oklahoma State nearly a year ago. Coach Mike Gundy doesn’t usually let freshmen talk to the media, but with only the Fiesta Bowl left, he made an exception for Oliver.
And even though it was a Zoom video conference with reporters scattered from Arizona to Oklahoma, rather than the in-person variety, Oliver’s youthful exuberance still showed through.
“He's a goof, man,” said OSU senior defensive end Brock Martin, who is Oliver’s roommate for the Fiesta Bowl trip, where the ninth-ranked Cowboys will face No. 5 Notre Dame at noon Saturday in Glendale, Arizona.
“He's still a kid, but he's having fun doing it, and he's doing a hell of a job.”
Hard to argue with any of that. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Oliver has a team-best 11.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss, despite playing in a backup role behind Martin as OSU’s edge-rushing defensive end.
“He's still a kid, but he's having fun doing it, and he's doing a hell of a job.”
Hard to argue with any of that. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Oliver has a team-best 11.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss, despite playing in a backup role behind Martin as OSU’s edge-rushing defensive end.
Oliver arrived at OSU last January by way of Edmond Santa Fe and began to catch the eyes of coaches early in spring practice. But it was in summer workouts that Martin really started to notice the special talent Oliver had.
“He came in, he worked his tail off, he never complained about anything,” Martin said. “He did everything he was asked to, and then he just went on to fall camp and he was very coachable. He listened to the seniors. He took a lot of coaching points from guys that have been there and the coaches.”
Oliver gave a lot of credit to Martin for his significant growth in his first year at OSU.
“I love Brock. That's my brother,” Oliver said. “He's like my big brother that I never had, because I have two sisters and I never had a brother that close to me. And I feel Brock is that brother that I needed to support me and help me grow through college. I wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for Brock. He has taught me a whole lot. He will continue to teach me more. And I'm proud that he's here.”
ven though no one anticipated this type of explosive freshman year for Oliver, many knew it would happen at some point. Martin was hyping Oliver as a future All-American before the season began.
And OSU defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements saw special ability in Oliver long before he became a Cowboy — not just in Oliver’s talent, but in what he could grasp mentally at a young age.
“It doesn't surprise me,” Clements said of Oliver’s rise. “It may surprise me that it happened this quickly, but I saw a maturity level in Collin when we had him at a youth camp before his junior year. By the end of the camp, I had gone off script and I was trying to teach him things that we were teaching our own players, and he was picking it up at that moment.
“So I knew he was going to be a good football player in time. Did I anticipate that it would happen this season? No, I didn't. I'm glad it did. He's obviously made a lot of plays for us, and a lot of it comes because of the leadership of that room. They've embraced him and brought him along and helped him along the way.”
Though there were some concerns as the season wore on that Oliver would hit the so-called “freshman wall,” it never happened, and he continued to be productive throughout the regular season.
“He's got a tremendous first step,” Clements said. “He's got great coordination with his hands, his feet, and his hips. He's got a high football IQ.
“And to be honest with you, a lot of the benefit is probably the depth we have at the defensive line, too. We're not asking him to go out there and play 60, 70, 80 snaps a game. He has his role. It's an important role. It's a big role. And it's allowed his body to stay healthy.”
Go ahead and count Oliver as one of the people who didn’t see this season coming for him.
“For myself, really, no; but for our team, I definitely did,” Oliver said. “I feel like the camaraderie we had was crazy, especially spring leading up to summer. I feel like we did a great job of combining our differences, and just becoming a team, really.
“We grew as a team. So I really expected this as a team. But for myself, honestly, I'm confident in myself, but I didn't expect this much, though.”
