Houston Football: Major Applewhite must show improvement in Year 2

Defense

As if the offense was not scary good, the defense looks like it can be just as dominant. Last year, Coach Mark D’Onofrio joined Major Applewhite’s staff, adding tons of experience to the defensive staff. Coach D’Onofrio, with a year under his belt, is poised to coach the toughest defense in the AAC.

The 2018 defense has the potential to be even better if Ole Miss transfer, Deontay Anderson, and Michigan transfer, Shae Patterson are eligible to play this season. However, the defense will undoubtedly be led by Ed Oliver.

Ed the Giant

The 6-foot-3, 290 pound junior, Ed Oliver, fills the middle at defensive tackle as good as anyone in the country. The future first-rounder can single-handedly cause havoc for any team in the AAC. Starting in all 12 games last year, Oliver led the team with 5.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles-for-loss. As Coach D’Onofrio makes the defense more complex and disguised as the season progresses, Oliver will be able to expose more and more offensive lines.