Houston defensive end Ed Oliver, a top NFL Draft prospect, sat out his fourth straight game on Thursday night and got into it with Cougars coach Major Appelwhite on the sideline. What was Oliver so hot about? Applewhite reportedly told Oliver to take off a jacket that was for active players only. Heading into the half, Oliver confronted Applewhite and was restrained.
Oliver is projected to be top five pick in next year's draft, but between the knee injury and the confrontation with Applewhite, this situation is being looked at closely. The bottom line, however, is that Oliver was told to take off a team jacket.
On Friday's "Off the Bench" podcast, Raja Bell is joined by Tommy Tran to talk about the incident. The first thing they note is that the rule against non-active players wearing the jackets on the bench seems silly, and they don't appear to accept that it's the root cause of the animosity. Bell and Tran try to delve in and figure out exactly what could have caused the altercation. With Oliver out, the Cougars had lost two straight games heading into Thursday's win, so Applewhite's patience may be a bit thin.
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