Josh Oliver

Early life

Born in Templeton, California, Oliver attended Paso Robles High School in Paso Robles, California.

His uncle, Clancy Oliver, was an NFL defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1969 to 1970 and then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1973, and second cousin Darren Oliver was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1993 to 2013, while his father Rene Oliver earned All-Western Football Conference first-team accolades as a cornerback at Cal Poly in 1987 and 1988.

Josh Oliver played tight end, defensive end, and outside linebacker on the football team and forward on the basketball team in high school, earning first-team all-county accolades from the San Luis Obispo Tribune in both sports.

During the 2014 season, Oliver compiled 453 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches in helping PRHS advance to the CIF Southern California Division III championship game.

He was a high school and college teammate of Bailey Gaither, future United States Football League wide receiver and return specialist.

Meanwhile, for his play at linebacker, Oliver was selected as the 2014 CIF Southern Section Northern Division Defensive Player of the Year in January 2015. He accumulated 13 sacks and two interceptions (returned for 28 yards) as a senior.

College career

Initially listed as an "athlete" in much of the recruiting process, Oliver was announced as a tight end upon signing a National Letter of Intent with San Jose State, as then-positional coach Dan Ferrigno commented he "[had] the tools to become an elite tight end."

Oliver played at SJSU from 2015 to 2018. During his career, he had 98 receptions for 1,067 yards and seven touchdowns, and was a Mountain West Conference All-Academic honoree in all four of his years.

As a freshman, his blocking was reportedly recognized to be a significant contributing factor toward Tyler Ervin breaking the program's single-season rushing yardage record. He also emerged as a receiving threat, with his first collegiate touchdown catch coming during the Spartans' Cure Bowl victory over Georgia State.

Midway through the 2018 season, Oliver won a John Mackey Award as the national tight end of the week after producing eight catches for 158 yards against Hawai'i on September 27 (setting a school single-game receiving yardage record by a tight end).

He earned first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection and served as a team captain in 2018, during a season in which his 56 receptions ranked third among FBS-level tight ends. Oliver was invited to the Senior Bowl after the season.