Oliver Tolliver

Oliver Tolliver

Oliver Tolliver in uniform for the Portland Pythons
No. 17 – Austin Copperheads
Position:	Wide Receiver
Personal information
Born:	(2034-06-13)June 13, 2034 (aged 26) Seattle,
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	195 lb (88 kg)
Username:	Memento Mori
Career information
High school:	Bellevue High School
College:	University of Washington
ISFL Draft:	2056 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9
DSFL Draft:	2055 / Round: 2 / Pick: 9
Career history
Roster status:	Active

Oliver Tolliver (born June 13, 2034) is an American football wide receiver for the Austin Copperheads of the International Simulation Football League (ISFL).

Early years

Oliver Tolliver was born on the 13th of June 2034 in Seattle, Washington. Oliver has two brothers, born to different mothers: Money Tolliver and Penger Tolliver, who both play in the Developmental Simulation Football League for the Bondi Beach Buccaneers. Their dad is a touring musician, meaning the three brothers were born in three different countries and so rarely spent time with each other or with their dad. Oliver was primarily raised by his mother, and enrolled in Bellevue High School. Bellevue has consistently been one of the highest-ranked high school football teams in the state of Washington, and has produced former NFL players such as Budda Baker, David DeCastro and Myles Jack. In an interview with noted high school/college football recruiting site Rivals.com Tolliver described his coach at Bellevue as having served as a stand-in father figure for himself and other students with a similar upbringing. As a senior, Tolliver amassed over 2,000 scrimmage yards and scored 26 total touchdowns with scouts noting the wide receiver's incredible speed. Tolliver was considered a four-star recruit, and was offered a scholarship by the University of Washington.

College career

Tolliver played three years for the Washington Huskies, the University of Washington football team. He appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman, with most of his snaps coming on special teams or in relief of the team's starting wide receivers. His 28 catches for 403 yards and 2 touchdowns were a notable contribution, however, with the highlight being a 68-yard touchdown catch against fierce rivals Washington State. He was moved to a starting wide receiver role as a sophomore, due to his performance as a freshman and the high regard that the UW coaching staff held Tolliver in. Tolliver excelled in this role, and would catch 68 passes for 1,014 yards, both team-highs, as UW won the Rose Bowl over the Texas Longhorns. Tolliver's junior season was his last in college football, and the third-year player shone. Tolliver led the Pac-12 in receiving yards with 1,309 as well as posting a team-high 90 catches and 10 receiving touchdowns. Tolliver also continued to contribute on special teams, with two punt return touchdowns.

College career statistics

			Rushing					Receiving				Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	GP	Att	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Long	TD	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
2052 (S37)	Huskies	13	2	6	3.0	5	0	28	403	68	2	158	22.6	0	82	9.1	0
2053 (S38)	Huskies	13	5	19	3.8	9	0	68	1014	79	7	143	23.8	0	148	12.3	0
2054 (S39)	Huskies	13	4	18	4.5	7	0	90	1309	71	10	117	23.4	0	238	19.8	2
Total	Career	39	11	43	3.9	9	0	186	2726	79	19	418	23.2	0	468	14.2	0

DSFL career

2054 season

At the conclusion of the 2054 college football season, Oliver Tolliver was granted the opportunity to join a Developmental Simulation Football League as a pre-draft waiver ahead of the 2055 DSFL Draft. Tolliver was selected by the Portland Pythons as part of the waiver process. He played three games for the Pythons, but was plagued by an inability to catch the football in his limited snaps. He caught three passes for 28 yards, including one first down, but recorded six drops across the three games.

2055 season

Tolliver's disappointing performance for the Pythons led to speculation throughout the offseason as to the potential effect on his DSFL Draft stock. Tolliver's impressive performances in the Pac-12 had him highly rated by many scouts, but his three games with Portland cast doubt on whether he'd be able to make the step up from college to the professional game. Once considered a first-round prospect, some analysts now considered Tolliver more likely to go in the second or third round.

The Bondi Beach Buccaneers selected Oliver Tolliver ninth overall, with the first pick in the second round of the 2055 DSFL Draft. Portland picked fourth overall, selecting defensive end Bruce White instead of Tolliver. The Buccaneers were coming off a disappointing 2-11-1 season in 2054, and Oliver Tolliver was one part of an offensive revolution for the team. The Buccaneers were the league's top scoring offence, scoring 432 points in the regular season and Tolliver caught 48 passes for 740 yards and 8 touchdowns. Despite competing against many second- and third-year pros, Tolliver finished in the top 20 for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.

The Buccaneers finished 9-5 and made the playoffs, with Tolliver contributing two catches for 21 yards in the team's 27-16 SFC Championship Game victory over the Norfolk Seawolves, setting up an Ultimini clash between the Buccaneers and the Portland Pythons - wearing the uniform Tolliver had donned three times the previous season. The Pythons built up an early lead, with two touchdown passes from Donovan Winters III in the first quarter and a Tyler One touchdown run giving them a 21-3 lead at the half. A 16-yard touchdown pass from Smokin' Jay to Tolliver began the second-half comeback, as Jay followed this up with touchdown passes to Plant Based and Kairo Knight to give the Bondi Beach the lead late in the fourth quarter. Portland were unable to put together a scoring drive, resulting in an Ultimini victory for Tolliver and the Buccaneers.

DSFL career statistics

			Receiving				Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	GP	Rec	Yds	Long	TD	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
2054 (S39)	POR	3	3	28	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2055 (S40)	BBB	14	48	740	74	8	60	20	0	16	16	0

ISFL career

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.36 s	3.99 s	6.88 s	30 in (0.76 m)	10 ft 9.8 in (3.30 m)	9 reps	12

Brandon Booker competed in the 2056 ISFL Scouting Combine ahead of the 2056 ISFL Draft, and impressed scouts with a 97th percentile performance in the shuttle and a 99th percentile performance in the three cone-drill, displaying his incredible acceleration and agility. His athletic traits and promising play for the Bondi Beach Buccaneers were enough for him to be selected 9th overall by the Austin Copperheads, making him a first-round selection in the ISFL.

2056 season

Expectations were high for the first-round pick heading into his rookie season, with Austin hoping that providing Queen Elizabeth II with one more offensive weapon could be the difference between another playoff exit and a return to the Ultimus. Week 1 offered some hope that this could be the case, as although a fourth-quarter comeback by the Arizona Outlaws resulted in the team losing 32-29 Tolliver recorded six catches on eight targets for 80 yards. It was clear that the offence had a legitimate fourth option alongside veteran pass-catchers Dolores Bickerman, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Deshawn Penne. Unfortunately, the offence struggled to move the ball all season despite the addition and the team finished in the bottom-half of the league in points scored. Queen Elizabeth II struggled throughout the season, posting the worst numbers of her career - the fewest yards, fewest touchdowns, worst completion percentage and highest interception rate in her four seasons. Tolliver continued to show great potential and recorded his first 100-yard receiving game against the Berlin Fire Salamanders in Week 13, but the Copperheads slipped to a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.

2057 season

After a disappointing Week 1 loss at home against the Orange County Otters, the Austin Copperheads began to live up to their potential. Wins against the Honolulu Hahalua, San Jose Sabercats and Chicago Butchers gave Austin a 3-1 record atop the ASFC with Queen Elizabeth II appearing to enjoy a bounceback year following a disappointing 2056. Unfortunately for Tolliver, this coincided with a period where he was seeing fewer targets – recording zero catches in Week 2 against Honolulu and just one in Week 5 against Arizona. At the halfway point in the season, Tolliver was yet to score a touchdown and was on pace for far fewer yards than in his rookie season. However, Austin were 6-2 and on course for an impressive season overall.

Unfortunately for the Copperheads, the season began to unravel over the final six games. They went 3-3 during the stretch run, with Tolliver finally recording his first and only touchdown catch of the season in Week 14’s 21-10 loss in Honolulu. Despite a Week 16 win in Orange County, Austin’s 10-6 record was only enough for 4th place in the ASFC and Tolliver and the team missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season, a disappointing one both individually and for the team.

2058 season

Tolliver was buoyed by the offseason acquisition of his half-brother, tight end Penger Tolliver and 2058 started encouragingly for Austin. In Week 1, the Copperheads triumphed 28-23 at home against Honolulu. Tolliver caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Queen Elizabeth II just before half-time to tie the game, and second-half touchdowns from Zaphod Beeblebrox and Jeff Newman were enough to secure the victory. By Week 6, however, the season was beginning to take on a familiar disposition. The Copperheads were 3-3, and Oliver had not been targeted once in the previous game. The team experienced a mid-season uptick in form before completely collapsing, losing five of the final six games to end the season 7-8-1 and miss the playoffs again. Tolliver once again posted career lows in receptions, yards, yards per reception, first downs and 20+ yard catches. It was clear that things just weren’t clicking for Tolliver or the team overall, with the franchise’s playoff drought extending to three seasons. Heading into a contract year, it was clear that 2059 would be make-or-break for Tolliver.

2059 season

Austin entered the 2059 season determined to end their playoff drought, and began their season by testing themselves against Honolulu, who were a playoff outfit in 2058. The two sides went a combined 6-for-30 on third down, but Austin’s defence was able to carry them to a victory. Austin traded wins and losses for the next three weeks, and found themselves a familiar 4-4 after eight weeks. The Texas side then took advantage of what transpired to be a relatively kind portion of their schedule and recorded victories over Colorado, Orange County, Sarasota, San Jose and New Orleans – scoring more than 30 points in each game. Despite this, Tolliver entered the final three games of the season having recorded fewer than 700 yards receiving and despite starting 16 games for the first time in his career it was another disappointing season individually. Austin went 1-2 over the final stretch, securing Oliver his first career playoff appearance. He recorded arguably his best performance of the season with six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, however the Copperheads fell 27-24 to the New York Silverbacks in the wildcard round. Oliver Tolliver became an unrestricted free agent following the expiry of his contract with the Copperheads.

ISFL career statistics

			Receiving				Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	GP	Rec	Yds	Long	TD	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
2056 (S41)	AUS	16	73	879	36	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
2057 (S42)	AUS	16	57	696	62	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
2058 (S43)	AUS	16	52	581	40	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
2059 (S44)	AUS	16	75	791	58	5	-1	-1	0	0	0	0
Total	Career	48	257	2947	62	13	0	0	0	0	0	0

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