Post by Funkytown on Aug 28, 2023 12:03:57 GMT -6
We continue to hear that he can do it all! Big opportunity for him this season...
Here is a piece from Purple Insider.
Josh Oliver took long development path to becoming Vikings' secret weapon
Link:
purpleinsider.substack.com/p/josh-oliver-took-long-development
Here is a piece from Purple Insider.
Josh Oliver took long development path to becoming Vikings' secret weapon
For Oliver, this opportunity was a long time in the making. It’s a culmination of many years of sharpening his craft.
When he left high school to play college football at San Jose State, Oliver wasn’t even decided on playing tight end. San Jose State assistant Terry Malley recruited him under the “athlete” title, meaning that he would need to figure out his position once he arrived.
Oliver’s dad always told him that he was a tight end. He wasn’t so sure. When he attended camps as a high schooler, he would go as an outside linebacker. Well, it turns out that his dad, who played college football in the late-80s for Cal Poly, knows ball. San Jose State quickly made him a tight end.
“Sometimes it’s better hearing it from other people. In that case he was definitely right,” Oliver said.
One does not simply just become a tight end though. He played more of a wide receiver role in high school on offense. The learning curve was steep.
“Tight end is a tough position because you have to do everything and you have to know everything about the offense,” Oliver said. “You have to know the most outside of the quarterback and center.”
He didn’t see the football much in his first few years, catching just seven passes in 2015 and 2016. As a junior, Oliver got a little more of the target share but it was largely underneath passes, grabbing 35 receptions for 295 yards. As a senior, they changed offensive coordinators and that’s when it started to click.
“When my third OC came in he was like ‘We gotta get you the ball, man,’” Oliver said, “So they started throwing me the ball a lot more and ended up coming close to breaking the record for the tight end position for San Jose State. That’s when I really realized, ‘hey, I can do this,’ and got my feet on the ground.”
Oliver put his name on the map to potentially be drafted. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein thought he was a fifth-rounder, writing: “run blocking will need work before he can handle NFL in-line duties.”
At that time nobody would have figured him to become a premier run blocker. He was listed a 249 pounds at the Combine, which is only in the 33rd percentile of tight ends, per the website Mockdraftable. Still, he was picked in the third round, relatively high for a kid out of San Jose State with one year of production.
His confidence that he could prove the blocking critiques wrong got a shot in the arm early in his career.
“When I first came in I had a coach Ron Middleton who took me through my scouting report and he was like, ‘Anybody saying you’re not a blocker or you can’t do this, use that as a chip on your shoulder.’ From there I did that,” Oliver said.
There were still hurdles though. He battled injuries and only appeared in four games in his first two seasons before getting traded to Baltimore. There he learned what it meant to be a difference maker in the run blocking game and play in multiple tight end personnel groupings.
“It was a long process,” Oliver said. “Footwork is a big deal. I always had a base strength but I got stronger over time and that helped me. I started understanding concepts, where to fit your hat, where to fit your hands on this play or that play. Plus I was able to put on weight and maintain my speed.”
Alongside star tight end Mark Andrews and veteran Nick Boyle, he played 513 snaps, 324 of which were run blocking (per PFF). He also made some plays, catching 14 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
The whole journey came together when the Vikings came calling with a three-year, $21 million deal. He looks back at those high school games where he played on the defensive side and those plays in the paint as a basketball player and the many, many hours in the weight room to be ready to manhandle outside linebackers as having prepared him for this chance.
“It’s a huge blessing,” Oliver said. “Huge opportunity. I have to make the most of it.”
When he left high school to play college football at San Jose State, Oliver wasn’t even decided on playing tight end. San Jose State assistant Terry Malley recruited him under the “athlete” title, meaning that he would need to figure out his position once he arrived.
Oliver’s dad always told him that he was a tight end. He wasn’t so sure. When he attended camps as a high schooler, he would go as an outside linebacker. Well, it turns out that his dad, who played college football in the late-80s for Cal Poly, knows ball. San Jose State quickly made him a tight end.
“Sometimes it’s better hearing it from other people. In that case he was definitely right,” Oliver said.
One does not simply just become a tight end though. He played more of a wide receiver role in high school on offense. The learning curve was steep.
“Tight end is a tough position because you have to do everything and you have to know everything about the offense,” Oliver said. “You have to know the most outside of the quarterback and center.”
He didn’t see the football much in his first few years, catching just seven passes in 2015 and 2016. As a junior, Oliver got a little more of the target share but it was largely underneath passes, grabbing 35 receptions for 295 yards. As a senior, they changed offensive coordinators and that’s when it started to click.
“When my third OC came in he was like ‘We gotta get you the ball, man,’” Oliver said, “So they started throwing me the ball a lot more and ended up coming close to breaking the record for the tight end position for San Jose State. That’s when I really realized, ‘hey, I can do this,’ and got my feet on the ground.”
Oliver put his name on the map to potentially be drafted. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein thought he was a fifth-rounder, writing: “run blocking will need work before he can handle NFL in-line duties.”
At that time nobody would have figured him to become a premier run blocker. He was listed a 249 pounds at the Combine, which is only in the 33rd percentile of tight ends, per the website Mockdraftable. Still, he was picked in the third round, relatively high for a kid out of San Jose State with one year of production.
His confidence that he could prove the blocking critiques wrong got a shot in the arm early in his career.
“When I first came in I had a coach Ron Middleton who took me through my scouting report and he was like, ‘Anybody saying you’re not a blocker or you can’t do this, use that as a chip on your shoulder.’ From there I did that,” Oliver said.
There were still hurdles though. He battled injuries and only appeared in four games in his first two seasons before getting traded to Baltimore. There he learned what it meant to be a difference maker in the run blocking game and play in multiple tight end personnel groupings.
“It was a long process,” Oliver said. “Footwork is a big deal. I always had a base strength but I got stronger over time and that helped me. I started understanding concepts, where to fit your hat, where to fit your hands on this play or that play. Plus I was able to put on weight and maintain my speed.”
Alongside star tight end Mark Andrews and veteran Nick Boyle, he played 513 snaps, 324 of which were run blocking (per PFF). He also made some plays, catching 14 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
The whole journey came together when the Vikings came calling with a three-year, $21 million deal. He looks back at those high school games where he played on the defensive side and those plays in the paint as a basketball player and the many, many hours in the weight room to be ready to manhandle outside linebackers as having prepared him for this chance.
“It’s a huge blessing,” Oliver said. “Huge opportunity. I have to make the most of it.”
Link:
purpleinsider.substack.com/p/josh-oliver-took-long-development
... and neither is this Chris guy.