Edward Oliver, the No. 6-ranked prospect in the country, is staying home for college.

The five-star and third-ranked defensive tackle in the Class of 2016 committed to the University of Houston on Thursday night in what is a first in the seven years ESPN has assigned star rankings to prospects.

Editor's Picks

Scout's Take: Edward Oliver to Houston

Edward Oliver, the sixth-ranked player in the ESPN 300, could possibly be the best prospect in school history.

The 6-foot-2, 283-pound Oliver, who selected the hometown team over LSU, Texas A&M, Texas and a number of others, becomes the first five-star ranked prospect by RecruitingNation to commit or sign with a non-Power 5 university.

The 2016 Under Armour All-America Game selection's commitment to Houston comes as surprise to many, but not those who have closely followed Oliver's recruitment. Oliver is the younger brother of Houston offensive lineman Marcus Oliver and his former head coach at Westfield High, Corby Meekins, is now on the Cougars staff. There is an overwhelming feeling of comfort and familiarity with the program closest to home.

LSU was considered the early leader, but the family's desire for Oliver to stay home and the connection to the Houston program overtook all challengers since January.

Oliver is one of four commitments for new Houston coach Tom Herman and his staff in the 2016 class joining three-star quarterback Bowman Sells, safety Patrick Rosette and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott.

Elliott, ranked 46th in the ESPN 300, announced his intentions on Friday via Twitter:

Elliott, who decommitted from Baylor in April, had 63 tackles, 31 tackles for loss and 12 sacks last season for Westside High School in Houston.

The question now becomes how much momentum can Houston ride on the recruiting trail with a five-star in the fold. Oliver is teammates with ESPN 300 No. 89 and former Texas A&M verbal Tyrie Cleveland and fast rising quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole, and both are seriously considering the Cougars.

(05-22-2015 10:31 PM)bcat1997 Wrote:  Edward Oliver, the No. 6-ranked prospect in the country, is staying home for college.

The five-star and third-ranked defensive tackle in the Class of 2016 committed to the University of Houston on Thursday night in what is a first in the seven years ESPN has assigned star rankings to prospects.

Editor's Picks

Scout's Take: Edward Oliver to Houston

Edward Oliver, the sixth-ranked player in the ESPN 300, could possibly be the best prospect in school history.

The 6-foot-2, 283-pound Oliver, who selected the hometown team over LSU, Texas A&M, Texas and a number of others, becomes the first five-star ranked prospect by RecruitingNation to commit or sign with a non-Power 5 university.

The 2016 Under Armour All-America Game selection's commitment to Houston comes as surprise to many, but not those who have closely followed Oliver's recruitment. Oliver is the younger brother of Houston offensive lineman Marcus Oliver and his former head coach at Westfield High, Corby Meekins, is now on the Cougars staff. There is an overwhelming feeling of comfort and familiarity with the program closest to home.

LSU was considered the early leader, but the family's desire for Oliver to stay home and the connection to the Houston program overtook all challengers since January.

Oliver is one of four commitments for new Houston coach Tom Herman and his staff in the 2016 class joining three-star quarterback Bowman Sells, safety Patrick Rosette and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott.

Elliott, ranked 46th in the ESPN 300, announced his intentions on Friday via Twitter:

Elliott, who decommitted from Baylor in April, had 63 tackles, 31 tackles for loss and 12 sacks last season for Westside High School in Houston.

The question now becomes how much momentum can Houston ride on the recruiting trail with a five-star in the fold. Oliver is teammates with ESPN 300 No. 89 and former Texas A&M verbal Tyrie Cleveland and fast rising quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole, and both are seriously considering the Cougars.

Sometimes they figure it out.

Two thoughts:
1) It is a great pickup for Houston but there is a looooonnnngggg way to go before NSD and many, many things can happen between now and then.

2) It will be interesting to see if this kid's stock falls now that he has committed to Houston and he ends up a 3 or 4 star recruit as opposed to the 5 he currently sports.

But none of that takes away from the fact that this a huge pickup for UH. I doubt it has too much impact on other recruits though.

(05-23-2015 07:26 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  Two thoughts:
1) It is a great pickup for Houston but there is a looooonnnngggg way to go before NSD and many, many things can happen between now and then.

2) It will be interesting to see if this kid's stock falls now that he has committed to Houston and he ends up a 3 or 4 star recruit as opposed to the 5 he currently sports.

But none of that takes away from the fact that this a huge pickup for UH. I doubt it has too much impact on other recruits though.

The day after the kid committed (yesterday), Houston picked up another DT who is a top 40 overall player in the country. They also have crystal ball predictions for a top 100 WR and DE as well as some other recruits with major offers in the last two days. Right now, it seems Oliver's commitment is actually having a very significant impact on other recruits.

I've said before...UC just needs ONE local star to stay home and it could potentially start a chain reaction.
I know we have had some good locals stay (Goodman and co. from a few years ago) but I mean a five star top 25 kid that could easily go to Ohio State, Notre Dame, etc. We need that kid to pick UC.

You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

(05-23-2015 08:32 AM)rosewater Wrote:  You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

they have a brand new stadium
they have been decent lately

(05-23-2015 08:39 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 08:32 AM)rosewater Wrote:  You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

they have a brand new stadium
they have been decent lately

Arguably, we have bested them in both of those areas, yet we haven't ever had a top 100 recruit.

(05-23-2015 07:39 AM)Racinejake Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 07:26 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  Two thoughts:
1) It is a great pickup for Houston but there is a looooonnnngggg way to go before NSD and many, many things can happen between now and then.

2) It will be interesting to see if this kid's stock falls now that he has committed to Houston and he ends up a 3 or 4 star recruit as opposed to the 5 he currently sports.

But none of that takes away from the fact that this a huge pickup for UH. I doubt it has too much impact on other recruits though.

The day after the kid committed (yesterday), Houston picked up another DT who is a top 40 overall player in the country. They also have crystal ball predictions for a top 100 WR and DE as well as some other recruits with major offers in the last two days. Right now, it seems Oliver's commitment is actually having a very significant impact on other recruits.

There is a huge distinction between corolation and causality.

(05-23-2015 08:51 AM)rosewater Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 08:39 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 08:32 AM)rosewater Wrote:  You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

they have a brand new stadium
they have been decent lately

Arguably, we have bested them in both of those areas, yet we haven't ever had a top 100 recruit.

I agree, we have.

But that wasn't the premise of the question I was answering. The question was, why would they consider UH. I answered by saying new stadium and they have been decent lately. Not sure if I'm right or not.

but I wasn't comparing UC to UH.

(05-23-2015 08:32 AM)rosewater Wrote:  You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

Take a deep breath and step away from the ledge. This has nothing to do with Houston "going somewhere."

They have a hot coaching staff and new facilities.

(05-23-2015 07:39 AM)Racinejake Wrote:  The day after the kid committed (yesterday), Houston picked up another DT who is a top 40 overall player in the country. They also have crystal ball predictions for a top 100 WR and DE as well as some other recruits with major offers in the last two days. Right now, it seems Oliver's commitment is actually having a very significant impact on other recruits.

Agreed. Could things change? Yeah, but the chances are reduced when you're talking about a commitment who's already getting recruited by the big boys. Not like you have to worry about him blowing up once his senior season starts up.

(05-23-2015 09:00 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 07:39 AM)Racinejake Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 07:26 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  Two thoughts:
1) It is a great pickup for Houston but there is a looooonnnngggg way to go before NSD and many, many things can happen between now and then.

2) It will be interesting to see if this kid's stock falls now that he has committed to Houston and he ends up a 3 or 4 star recruit as opposed to the 5 he currently sports.

But none of that takes away from the fact that this a huge pickup for UH. I doubt it has too much impact on other recruits though.

The day after the kid committed (yesterday), Houston picked up another DT who is a top 40 overall player in the country. They also have crystal ball predictions for a top 100 WR and DE as well as some other recruits with major offers in the last two days. Right now, it seems Oliver's commitment is actually having a very significant impact on other recruits.

There is a huge distinction between corolation and causality.

If this kid isn't responsible for getting the ball rolling on all these other recruits (recruits Houston has never been able to touch), then the situation is even more depressing for us. If recruits are juat that enamored with Houston's program (coaches, facilities, etc), then there's only more of this type of recruiting ahead for them.

(05-23-2015 08:32 AM)rosewater Wrote:  You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

Coach Herman and his staff know their way around Texas and Big 12 territory. If they win their attendance will be strong.

(05-23-2015 10:08 AM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 08:32 AM)rosewater Wrote:  You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

Coach Herman and his staff know their way around Texas and Big 12 territory. If they win their attendance will be strong.

6,500,000 in the metro area. Large alumni base. Brand new stadium. Lots of energy related recession proof businesses, with the money to entertain. I think you are right.

I was surprised to see as of 2010, the Cincinnati metro area is 2,077,240.

(05-23-2015 10:29 AM)OneUChoopsfan Wrote:  6,500,000 in the metro area. Large alumni base. Brand new stadium. Lots of energy related recession proof businesses, with the money to entertain. I think you are right.

I was surprised to see as of 2010, the Cincinnati metro area is 2,077,240.

And on the football side of things, it's incredibly fertile recruiting grounds.

(05-23-2015 09:05 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 08:32 AM)rosewater Wrote:  You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

Take a deep breath and step away from the ledge. This has nothing to do with Houston "going somewhere."

They have a hot coaching staff and new facilities.

Thanks Mr. Snarky. BTW, what in my post puts me on the ledge.

The city population, familiarity with recruiting, and recruiting hotbed make a little sense, however, other new AAC coaches have at least two of these factors(SMU and USF) and do not have anywhere near the results.

(05-23-2015 11:07 AM)rosewater Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 09:05 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(05-23-2015 08:32 AM)rosewater Wrote:  You gotta wonder with all the highly ranked kids, is Houston going somewhere? You all have seen there attendance. It is far worse then ours. Why would all these highly ranked individuals want to play in front of nobody.

Take a deep breath and step away from the ledge. This has nothing to do with Houston "going somewhere."

They have a hot coaching staff and new facilities.

Thanks Mr. Snarky. BTW, what in my post puts me on the ledge.

It's just a bit of a reach to come to the conclusion that a couple of highly regarded recruits is a sign of Houston's imminent departure. Especially with all the angst over UC's conference hopes and drama.

Houston is not going anywhere. The cities TV market is already covered by UT, etc. and that is what matters. If UT wanted UH in B12 it would have happened long ago.

If Herman wins he will be gone in 2 or 3.