 Olson in August 2008 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | February 28, 1983 Missoula, Montana, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight: | 232 lb (105 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Thousand Oaks (CA) |
| College: | UCLA |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Undrafted: | 2009 |
Benjamin James Olson (born February 28, 1983) is a former American football college quarterback. He played four injury-plagued seasons of college football at UCLA, starting 10 games (and appearing in four others) with the club.
Born in Missoula, Montana, [1] Olson grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, where he played quarterback for Thousand Oaks High School in California for four years. For three of those years, he played on the varsity team, alongside David Anderson.
Olson was considered the top quarterback prospect [2] [3] –and even top high school football recruit in the country [4] –following a highly productive senior year in which he threw for 2,989 yards and 32 touchdowns, earning high school All-American honors in 2001. [5]
Upon graduation in 2002, Olson signed with Brigham Young University and redshirted his freshman season. He then went on a two-year mission to Canada with the LDS Church. [3] [6]
In 2005 Olson transferred to UCLA, [3] [5] where he spent the year behind senior Drew Olson (no relation) on the depth chart after missing the opener with a fractured hand. [1]
Olson played in five games in 2006, completing 63.7% of his passes for 822 yards, 6.63 yards per attempt, 5 TDs and 5 INTs. His season came to an end in the opening moments of his fifth start, when he tore a ligament. He did not regain the starting position that season. [1]
Olson was named starting quarterback for the 2007 season following the spring training. [7] However, he was again plagued by injuries and only played in 6 games, completing only 48.3% of his passes for 1040 yards, 7.08 yards per attempt, 7 TDs and 6 INTs. [1]
Entering the 2008 season, Olson was the presumptive starting quarterback after a career-ending knee injury to Patrick Cowan, the named starter during spring practice. However, on Saturday, August 9, Olson broke his right foot and was sidelined. X-rays taken the following day revealed the fracture, a repeat of an injury he had suffered during spring practice. The foot took longer than expected to heal and he finished his college football career without playing a game that year. [8]
After graduating from UCLA in 2008, Olson was invited to try out by the Philadelphia Eagles, but again broke his foot. [9] He went un-drafted in the 2009 NFL draft.
Ben is the son of Rick and Annie Olson [10] and has one brother and three sisters. [1] He married Andrea Anderson in May 2007. [7] [9] [11]
Robbie Bosco is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the BYU Cougars and led the team to the 1984 National Championship.
Drew Martin Olson is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and NFL Europe. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins. Olson was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He has also played for the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, but never appeared in a regular-season game.
Ronney Jenkins is an American former professional football player who was a running back and kickoff returner for four seasons with the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars and Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
John Dalton Beck is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars, and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft. He was also a member of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins, and Houston Texans, as well as the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
The Holy War is the name given to the American college football rivalry game played annually by the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and the University of Utah Utes. It is part of the larger BYU–Utah sports rivalry. In this context, the term "Holy War" refers to the fact that BYU is owned and administered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the U of U is a secular, public university with a substantial LDS student population. The current president and head football coach at the U of U are also LDS Church members.
Anthony Lee Adams is an American former professional football player, a quarterback in the World Football League (WFL), National Football League (NFL), and Canadian Football League (CFL).
The 2007 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by third-year head football coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes played their homes games in Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The 2007 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and were coached by Karl Dorrell for the regular season. It was Dorrell's fifth, and final season as the UCLA head coach. UCLA's season was marked by numerous injuries, particularly at quarterback. Original starting quarterback Ben Olson injured his knee early in the season and missed over four games. Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan also suffered a knee injury but returned for two more games before suffering a collapsed lung against Arizona. Coach Karl Dorrell was fired following the loss in the 77th UCLA–USC rivalry football game, the final regular season game for the Bruins. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker became the interim coach for the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl, in which the Bruins lost to BYU, 17–16. The Bruins finished 6–7 overall, 5–4 in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they were tied for fourth place.
Jacob Cooper Locker is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selected by the Titans with the eighth overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft.
The 2007 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. BYU clinched its second consecutive Mountain West Conference (MWC) championship title outright after defeating Utah on November 24. It was BYU's second consecutive, undefeated season in the MWC, its fourth MWC championship since the league began in 1999, and its 23rd conference title. At the beginning of the season the Cougars had won an MWC record 16 straight league games dating back to 2005 and were on a ten-game overall winning streak, the longest winning streak in the country at the time. The Cougars began the season with the second longest winning streak in the country at 11 wins until their loss to UCLA in the second regular season game. The Cougars ended this season ranked 14th in the nation, highest of all schools from non-AQ conferences. This finish was the highest back-to-back rankings in the AP Poll since the Cougars won the national championship in 1984.
The 2007 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I post-season college football bowl game between the UCLA Bruins and the Brigham Young University Cougars. The game was played on December 22, 2007, starting at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, where the bowl has been played since 1992. It was televised on ESPN.
The 2008 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
The 2008 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They opened the season at home against Tennessee under new head coach Rick Neuheisel, at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. The Bruins played six of the Top 25 teams in the 2007 final Associated Press rankings. More than half of the opponents had won nine or more games during the 2007 season.
Kevin Craft is a former American football quarterback and Head Coach for the IBM Big Blue in the Japanese X-League. He played college football at UCLA.
Gary Sheide is a former American football quarterback for Brigham Young University. He was the first quarterback to come out of LaVell Edwards's BYU "quarterback factory."
David Trenton Ash is a former American football quarterback who last played for the Warsaw Mets in the Polish Football League. He played college football for the University of Texas Longhorns. After an impressive start that included being named the offensive MVP in the 2011 Holiday Bowl, he was forced to end his career early in the face of repeated concussions and concussion-related symptoms.
The 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl is an American college football bowl game that was played on December 27, 2013, at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. The 12th edition of the Fight Hunger Bowl, it featured the Washington Huskies, from the Pac-12 Conference, against the BYU Cougars, an independent team. The game began at 6:30 p.m. PST and aired on ESPN. It was the last Fight Hunger Bowl game played at AT&T Park.
Taysom Shawn Hill is an American professional football utility player for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He is officially designated as a tight end. He played college football at BYU and joined the Saints in 2017 as an undrafted free agent. Hill was listed as a quarterback on the Saints depth chart during his first five seasons, though he took snaps at seven different positions. Hill was designated as a tight end beginning in 2022 before once again being listed as a quarterback in 2023. He has maintained similar roles on offense and special teams throughout his career, including as the Saints primary gunner. Hill's array of utilization has earned him a reputation as a unique player in the NFL. Due to his versatility, he is known as "The Human Swiss Army Knife" by Saints' media.
Tanner Mangum is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the BYU Cougars.
Zachary Kapono Wilson is an American professional football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars and was selected second overall by the New York Jets in the 2021 NFL draft. Wilson served as the Jets' starter during his first three seasons, but inconsistent play led to him being traded to the Broncos in 2024.