Paul Oliver (American football)
No. 27, 25 | |||||
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Position: | Harrison (Kennesaw, Georgia) | ||||
College: | Georgia | ||||
Supplemental draft: | 2007 / Round: 4 / Pick: 4 | ||||
Career history | |||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Paul J. Oliver (March 30, 1984 – September 24, 2013) was an
Early years
Oliver was heavily recruited as a
College career
Oliver decided to stay close to home and committed to playing college football 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.[3] 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.[4]
Oliver had his best game as a Bulldog on November 25, 2006, against
Early departure
Oliver was ruled academically ineligible on May 17, 2007, and decided to apply for the 2007
Professional career
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
In a statement concerning Oliver, Chargers
Despite timing poorly at his 2007 Pro Day, Oliver displayed good footwork and also did well in cornerback drills.[10][according to whom?]
Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | Vertical jump | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 10+5⁄8 in (1.79 m) |
198 lb (90 kg) |
4.56 s | 33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m) | |||||||||
All values from Pro Day.[11][12] |
NFL career
Oliver played for the Chargers from 2007 to 2010. He then became a free agent and signed with the Saints, but was released after being injured during training camp. On September 21, 2011, Oliver returned to the Chargers for the 2011 season.[13]
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
---|---|
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
2008 | SDG | 12 | 0 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2009 | SDG | 16 | 3 | 49 | 38 | 11 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 1 |
2010 | SDG | 16 | 8 | 62 | 47 | 15 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 0 |
2011 | SDG | 13 | 1 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
57 | 12 | 145 | 114 | 31 | 1.0 | 3 | 4 | 56 | 0 | 34 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 63 | 1 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
2008 | SDG | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2009 | SDG | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Death
Oliver died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot on September 24, 2013.[14] He is survived by his wife, the former Chelsea Young, and two children.[15] Police on the incident state that Oliver shot himself in front of his wife and his two young boys.[16]
It was later determined through analysis of Oliver's brain that he suffered from an advanced form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, caused by repeated hits to the head he endured during his football playing career.[17] He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease.[18]
References
- ^ Chattanooga Times Free Press | Oliver ineligible for Dogs[permanent dead link]
- ^ Paul Oliver – Football Recruiting
- ^ "Hangin' with: Paul Oliver". Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2007.
- ^ a b Paul Oliver Profile
- ^ Freshman Stafford solid for Georgia in win over rival Tech
- ^ 2007 supplemental draft[permanent dead link]
- ^ "2007 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ ESPN - Georgia's Oliver, Maryland's Gaither chosen in supplemental draft - NFL
- ^ SignOnSanDiego.com > San Diego Chargers - Chargers take a supplement for the secondary
- ^ Supplemental draft prospects - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- ^ "*Paul Oliver, DS #999 CB, Georgia". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "2007 Supplemental Draft Prospects". Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2007.
- San Diego Union-Tribune, September 21, 2011.
- ^ "Ex-Charger Paul Oliver reportedly commits suicide". www.si.com. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ^ "Chargers 'devastated' by ex-DB Paul Oliver's suicide". USA Today. September 26, 2013.
- ^ "Georgia Football Player Suicide". CNN. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: Chelsea Oliver Web Clip (HBO Sports). YouTube.
- ^ "Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied". Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Retrieved March 26, 2023.