HOUSTON — All-American defensive tackle Ed Oliver got into a heated discussion with Houston coach Major Applewhite just before halftime of the Cougars’ 48-17 win over Tulane on Thursday night.
Applewhite approached Oliver, who has missed four consecutive games because of an injured knee, on the Houston sideline before halftime and removed the lineman’s jacket off of his shoulder. Oliver could then be seen shouting at Applewhite as the team walked toward its locker room at halftime.
ESPN’s Laura Rutledge reported that Applewhite confirmed the dispute was about Oliver wearing a long, black jacket on the sideline. Applewhite told Oliver, who was in street clothes while inactive for the game, that the jackets were reserved for active players only.
Oliver was restrained by Houston director of sports performance Rod Grace while shouting at Applewhite on the way to the tunnel. The junior did not return to the field for the second half, and even tweeted in response to his team recovering a fumble in the third quarter.
After the game, Applewhite downplayed the issue when asked how he would address the incident with Oliver.
“Just talk to him about how to respond to things — respond the way our teammates did tonight,” the coach said. “A lot of things happened, but they continued to fight and move on. If that’s the worst thing that happens, we’re gonna be all right.
“We’re all young. I don’t blame him. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life, and we all need second chances, and Ed’ll do great and he’ll be fine.”
Oliver, who last season became the first underclassman to win the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman, is widely considered to be a potential top-five pick in next spring’s NFL draft.
He has 51 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss this season but recently fell from No. 2 overall to No. 7 on Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest Big Board after missing a month of action. Oliver suffered a knee contusion against Navy on Oct. 20 and has not played since.
On Wednesday, Oliver posted a cryptic tweet on Twitter that read: “I gave all I had so there’d be nuthing to lose.” That led to some speculation that he had decided not to play again this season for the Cougars.
But Oliver told ESPN’s Rutledge that wasn’t his intention. Instead, he said he wrote it so that in the event he can’t return, people would know how much he gave to the team.
Applewhite also left the door open for Oliver Houston’s regular-season finale at Memphis next week.
“We’re always ready for him to come back whenever he wants to,” Applewhite said. “I hope he gets an opportunity to come back too, but I also understand what he’s going through. I see both sides of it, I really do. And I hate that for him, but I see it. I see it from both angles.”
Meanwhile, Houston lost quarterback D’Eriq King to a knee injury in the second quarter of the Cougars’ win.
King, the FBS leader in touchdowns responsible for going into Thursday night, suffered the noncontact injury late in the second quarter. After handing off the ball, King hopped and grabbed his right leg as he fell to the turf. He was carted off the field before the half ended.
The junior quarterback was responsible for 48 touchdowns prior to Thursday’s game, nine more than the No. 2 player at that position, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray. King was 11-of-15 passing for 82 yards and a touchdown and ran for 82 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game, giving him 50 touchdowns responsible for this season, an American Athletic Conference record.
True freshman Clayton Tune entered the game in relief of King and finished 6-of-15 passing for 108 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.