Every player gives credit for their success to different things. For Ed Oliver, he says it’s horses.

He saw one riding down his street just outside Houston when he was about 10 and asked for and got one for himself. Years later, Oliver saddled up on the true difference maker.

”He got me another horse named Oreo and I got into riding Oreo, and I swear that horse tried to kill me a couple times,” Oliver said. “But fighting with that horse is really the reason I became fearless and why I'm able to go up against 6'5”, 300 pound guys is a walk in the park. If you're fighting with a 1,000-pound animal, I ain't worrying about no 300 pounds."

Oliver stayed home in Houston and wreaked havoc for the Cougars unlike any before him, earning first-, second-, and third-team All-America honors over his three years while totaling 13 1/2 sacks and 53 tackles for loss. He won the Outland Trophy as a sophomore as the nation's top interior lineman.

Still, at around 280 pounds, some wonder if Oliver's size will be an issue in the NFL.

"I feel like teams are going to question you until you get there and show what you can do,” he said. “I believe I'm going to be questioned up until my first game, until I put that to rest. I just feel like I'm a lot quicker. I'm a lot more speed than most D-linemen do, especially coming out this year. I think that's one thing that separates me when you turn the tape on. When you turn other guys' tape on, I'm moving at a different speed."

Oliver was in the first overall pick conversation before last season began, but an injury-shortened campaign, paired with those size concerns, have dropped him slightly. He's definitely looking like a top 10 pick Thursday night, with last-minute chatter possibly pushing him into the top five. He's my homerun pick for the Bills if he's there at ninth overall.