Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver has missed the past four games with a knee injury, but ESPN reported that the reigning Outland Trophy winner is expected to return for Friday’s game against Memphis.
Officially, Oliver remains day-to-day, according to the Cougars’ football program, and there has been speculation that Oliver would sit out the rest of his college football season as he prepares for the NFL Draft.
In his most recent mock draft published Nov. 11, Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com projected Oliver to be the third overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Besides the knee injury, Oliver also had a heated exchange with head coach Major Applewhite on the sidelines of last week’s game against Tulane.
Oliver later apologized.
The winner of the Houston-Memphis game will claim the American Athletic Conference West title and earn a berth in the conference championship game against Central Florida. Houston is 8-3 overall and 5-2 in AAC play, while Memphis is 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the conference.
Oliver, a junior, did not have a sack in the first three games this season, and he had three in the last two games he played.
Last March, Oliver announced that the 2018 season would be his last season of college football, saying he would make himself for the 2019 NFL draft.
