ATLANTA -- Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver was chosen as the winner of the 2017 Outland Trophy as the top interior lineman in college football at the 2017 Home Depot College Football Awards.
Oliver is the first Houston player to receive the Outland Trophy, as well as the first sophomore to win the award since its inception in 1946. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound tackle was chosen over finalists Quenton Nelson, a senior offensive guard at Notre Dame, and Oklahoma junior offensive tackle Orlando Brown.
"I'm not surprised. He's the best lineman in college football - it is not even close," said Houston head coach Major Applewhite.