Branden Oliver is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 with the University at Buffalo

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...

 Bulls

Buffalo Bulls football

The Buffalo Bulls football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University at Buffalo located in the U.S. state of New York. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Mid-American Conference. Buffalo's first...

.

Personal

Oliver was born in Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 and attended Miami Southridge High School

Miami Southridge High School

Miami Southridge Senior High School is a secondary school located at 19355 SW 114 Avenue in Miami, Florida, USA . Its principal is David K. Moore...

. At Southridge, Oliver was a two-time captain and two time letter winner. His parents are Edwin and Alena Oliver. He is the cousin of NFL wide receiver Roscoe Parrish

Roscoe Parrish

Roscoe Parrish is an American football wide receiver and punt returner who currently plays for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

.

2011 season

He finished his sophomore season gaining 1,395 yards and scoring 13 touchdowns on 306 carries. Oliver also caught the ball 38 times for 365 yards and no touchdowns. On October 8, the Bulls tailback gained 179 rushing yards and 43 receiving (221 total). He also scored 3 times in a 38-37 win over the Ohio Bobcats

Ohio Bobcats football

The Ohio Bobcats football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team represents the university as a member of the Mid-American Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, playing at the Division 1 Bowl Subdivision level...

. On November 19, Oliver ran 29 times, totaling a career high 235 yards in a 51-10 win over the Akron Zips

Akron Zips football

The University of Akron Zips are a college football program representing the University of Akron that competes in NCAA Division I FBS Mid-American Conference football...

. In the final game of the season, Buffalo lost to the Bowling Green Falcons

Bowling Green Falcons football

The Bowling Green Falcons football team is the interscholastic football team at Bowling Green State University. Bowling Green competes as a member of the Mid-American Conference in the East Division. The Falcons have won ten conference championships....

 42-28. However, Oliver surpassed NFL running back James Starks

James Starks

James Darell Starks is an American football running back for the Green Bay Packers. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, .-High school:James attended high school in Niagara Falls, New York...

for the Bulls single season record for most carries, rushing yards and all-purpose yards. He also became the first Bulls running back to gain at least 100 yards eight times in a season.