Football: Meet the Recruits - DB Kaleb Oliver

Recruitment

After having originally committed to Mississippi State, Kaleb Oliver became Georgia Tech’s 23rd commitment just days before National Signing Day. Oliver had been committed to play in Starkville since last summer, but decided to go elsewhere when the Bulldogs fired their defensive coordinator. Oliver is 6’3” and 200 pounds from Oakland High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn. - a crosstown rival of 2017 Yellow Jacket signee Gentry Bonds.

Oliver is rated as a 4-star prospect by Rivals (5.8) and a 3-star by the 247Sports Composite (0.8670). He had other offers that included Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Louisville, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

On Film

Here’s what Joey said about Oliver’s film back in January.

Oliver’s senior highlights look awfully familiar, resembling those of fellow DB commit Avery Showell. As a safety, Oliver is regularly lined up in the box and asked to rush the quarterback or disrupt plays in the backfield. He shows excellent acceleration and speed that make him nearly impossible for opposing offenses to properly account for, and which are on full display for a couple of blocked kicks shown. His physicality is also a nice compliment that should play well at the next level against opposing backs and tight ends. The only real concern, as far as I can tell, is that Oliver’s highlights don’t include a ton of him in coverage. As a safety, his responsibilities will include a lot of coverage, although those responsibilities could be reduced if he’s used in more of a nickel- or strong safety-type role where he’ll focus a little more on supporting the run. That said, even in that role, he could still be involved in a lot of man coverage against backs and tight ends.

Oliver is definitely very athletic and able to stick his nose in there and make a hit. While the coverage seems to be somewhat lacking, I will take someone who may need to be coached up on technique and have athleticism and physicality down, because you can’t teach the latter two.

What to Expect

Oliver could end up playing several different positions. As mentioned, he could stay at safety or play more of a nickel role, in addition to possibly playing some outside linebacker. And he will certainly have time to develop, as the Jackets return their entire starting defensive backfield and signed Paul Johnson’s best class of defensive backs in 2017.

Oliver has the athleticism to definitely excel at the next level. With a college weight program and coaches honing his coverage skills, the sky’s the limit. He is a player that could definitely help the Yellow Jackets in a big way in the coming years.