Paul Oliver (American football)
Encyclopedia
Paul J. Oliver is an American football
safety for the San Diego Chargers
of the National Football League
. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2007 Supplemental NFL Draft
by the Chargers.
He has also been a member of the New Orleans Saints
.
High School All-American for the Harrison High School
Hoyas. He was also ranked as the #1 corner back by Rivals.com
in 2003 timed unofficially with a 4.32s 40 yard dash
at 185 lbs and a 37" vertical jump
.
at the University of Georgia
. After redshirting
for a year, Oliver developed into a key reserve in his first two years playing, earning him preseason third-team All-SEC
honors before his 3rd year. Oliver, thrust into a starting
role broke out as one of the best corners in the SEC his junior year. In his first game as a starter, filling in for the injured DeMario Minter
, Oliver shut down University of Florida
star Chad Jackson
, holding him to only 2 catches for 22 yards. Oliver was awarded with Georgia's Most Improved Defensive Player Award after the 2005 season.
Oliver probably had his best game as a Bulldog on November 25, 2006, against the Georgia Tech football team
shutting down the #2 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft
, Calvin Johnson
, though not without some help from Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball. Oliver, whose primary role was to contain Johnson, ended up frustrating the all-American by holding him to only 13 yards and 2 receptions, batting away 3 balls intended for Johnson and intercepting another. Reggie Ball
threw the pass into heavy traffic on the Yellow Jackets final drive and Oliver came up with the interception sealing a 15-12 Bulldog victory. Oliver finished the day with 4 solo tackles, 3 of which were on third down plays in the red zone, and also forced a fumble. Oliver ended his three season career at Georgia with 7 interceptions, 8 deflected passes, 94 tackles (74 solo), 8.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 recovered fumbles.
held 2 months later on July 12. Oliver, who tested well in the Wonderlic Test
, was seen as a player who lacked the motivation to succeed in school rather than not having the aptitude or intelligence.
ended up bidding their 2008
4th rounder for the rights to select Oliver making him the 1st of only two players selected in 2007's supplemental draft. The other player was University of Maryland, College Park
tackle Jared Gaither
selected by the Baltimore Ravens
one round after Oliver.
In a statement concerning Oliver, Chargers General Manager
, A. J. Smith
said, "We had the opportunity to get a good football player today, and we took it. Paul Oliver is a very competitive, aggressive, confident player. He's not cautious about anything he does on the field. You know how we like depth. We'll add Paul to the mix as a Charger and time will tell."
Despite timing poorly at his 2007 Pro Day, Paul Oliver displayed good footwork and also did well in cornerback
drills.
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
safety for the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2007 Supplemental NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
by the Chargers.
He has also been a member of the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
.
Early years
Oliver was heavily recruited as a ParadeParade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
High School All-American for the Harrison High School
Harrison High School (Georgia)
For schools with a similar name, see Harrison High School.Carl Harrison High School is a grades 9-12 public high school in Kennesaw, Georgia...
Hoyas. He was also ranked as the #1 corner back by Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
in 2003 timed unofficially with a 4.32s 40 yard dash
40 yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time in the 40 can have a heavy impact on his prospects in college or professional football...
at 185 lbs and a 37" vertical jump
Vertical jump
A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of raising one's center of gravity higher in the vertical plane solely with the use of one's own muscles; it is a measure of how high an individual or athlete can elevate off the ground from a standstill.-Types of vertical jump:The vertical jump is...
.
College career
Oliver decided to stay close to home and committed to playing college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
. After redshirting
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
for a year, Oliver developed into a key reserve in his first two years playing, earning him preseason third-team All-SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
honors before his 3rd year. Oliver, thrust into a starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
role broke out as one of the best corners in the SEC his junior year. In his first game as a starter, filling in for the injured DeMario Minter
DeMario Minter
DeMario Minter DeMario Minter DeMario Minter (born February 20, 1984 in Stone Mountain, Georgia is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
, Oliver shut down University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
star Chad Jackson
Chad Jackson
-New England Patriots:On the first day of the 2006 NFL Draft, the Patriots traded draft picks with the Green Bay Packers to move up sixteen places in the second round to select Jackson, giving up a third-round pick acquired in a trade...
, holding him to only 2 catches for 22 yards. Oliver was awarded with Georgia's Most Improved Defensive Player Award after the 2005 season.
Oliver probably had his best game as a Bulldog on November 25, 2006, against the Georgia Tech football team
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
shutting down the #2 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
, Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson (American football)
Calvin Johnson, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Lions second overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech....
, though not without some help from Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball. Oliver, whose primary role was to contain Johnson, ended up frustrating the all-American by holding him to only 13 yards and 2 receptions, batting away 3 balls intended for Johnson and intercepting another. Reggie Ball
Reggie Ball
Reginald Lewis Ball is an American football Quarterback who currently plays for the Bricktown Brawlers of the Indoor Football League He was originally signed by the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
threw the pass into heavy traffic on the Yellow Jackets final drive and Oliver came up with the interception sealing a 15-12 Bulldog victory. Oliver finished the day with 4 solo tackles, 3 of which were on third down plays in the red zone, and also forced a fumble. Oliver ended his three season career at Georgia with 7 interceptions, 8 deflected passes, 94 tackles (74 solo), 8.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 recovered fumbles.
Early departure
Paul Oliver was ruled academically ineligible on May 17, 2007 and decided to apply for the 2007 supplemental draftNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
held 2 months later on July 12. Oliver, who tested well in the Wonderlic Test
Wonderlic Test
The Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test is a twelve-minute, fifty-question test used to assess the aptitude of prospective employees for learning and problem-solving in a range of occupations. The test was developed by industrial psychologist Eldon F. Wonderlic...
, was seen as a player who lacked the motivation to succeed in school rather than not having the aptitude or intelligence.
2007 Supplemental Draft
Despite not having as much time to train as other prospects who go through the normal draft process, Oliver was able to garner enough interest to be the consensus #1 player in the supplemental draft. The San Diego ChargersSan Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
ended up bidding their 2008
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...
4th rounder for the rights to select Oliver making him the 1st of only two players selected in 2007's supplemental draft. The other player was University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
tackle Jared Gaither
Jared Gaither
Jared Gaither is an American football offensive tackle for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2007 Supplemental Draft...
selected by the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
one round after Oliver.
In a statement concerning Oliver, Chargers General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
, A. J. Smith
A. J. Smith
A.J. Smith is a professional American football executive, currently serving as the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the San Diego Chargers....
said, "We had the opportunity to get a good football player today, and we took it. Paul Oliver is a very competitive, aggressive, confident player. He's not cautious about anything he does on the field. You know how we like depth. We'll add Paul to the mix as a Charger and time will tell."
Despite timing poorly at his 2007 Pro Day, Paul Oliver displayed good footwork and also did well in cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
drills.
| Pre-draft measureables | ||||||
| Wt | 40 yd 40 yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time in the 40 can have a heavy impact on his prospects in college or professional football... |
20 ss 20 yard shuttle The 20-yard shuttle, also simply called the short shuttle, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the quickness and change-of-direction ability of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting... |
3-cone 3 cone drill The 3 cone drill, or three cone drill, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting... |
Vert Vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of raising one's center of gravity higher in the vertical plane solely with the use of one's own muscles; it is a measure of how high an individual or athlete can elevate off the ground from a standstill.-Types of vertical jump:The vertical jump is... |
BP Bench press The bench press is an exercise of the upper body. For bodybuilding purposes, it is used to stimulate the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. While on his or her back, the person performing the bench press lowers a weight to the level of the chest, then pushes it back up until the arm is straight... |
Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 195 lb | 4.59s | X | 7.33s | 33.5 in | X | X |
Second stint with Chargers
On September 21, 2011, Oliver re-signed with the San Diego ChargersSan Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.