Know Your Bulls: #32 Branden Oliver

Know your Bulls is a countdown to the kick off. If will look at every single UB football player on the roster. When the players number matches the number of days remaining then it's his turn in the spotlight.

Position: Running Back

From: Miami, Florida

Smashed many single season records last season

At five feet eight inches it could be easy to confuse Branden Oliver for a typical scat back. While it is easy for Oliver to get lost behind the line any similarities to a back like Danny Woodhead stop there. Once he finds a hole Oliver punches through it like a bowling ball.

In 2011 Oliver showed flashes of illusiveness but his running style is more north south. Perhaps the biggest asset he showed last season was the uncanny ability to get tackled going forward. Even on broken plays Oliver might squeak out one to three yards where other backs might take a loss.

But more impressive than any single Oliver carry is the workload he put in all season. He carried the ball a record setting 306 times for racking up 1,395 yards (another record), including eight games of 100 plus yards, more than any back in UB history. He also caught 38 passes padding his all-purpose yards to 1,760, another single season school record.

It’s the second straight year that Oliver led the Bulls in rushing. As a freshman Oliver rushed for 298 yards and caught five passes for 92 yards. That season Coach Jeff Quinn ran a committee backfield that included Brandon Thermilus, Jeffvon Gill, and Ike Nduka All of whom are absent from this seasons roster.

This season Bo is primed to set several career marks and is on the watch lists for the Doak Walker, the Walter Camp, and the Maxwell awards. A season even approaching what he did last year and the junior may set marks that will stand for a very long time.