Drew Olson

Drew Olson
No. 7,8,10
Position:	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	227 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:	Piedmont (Piedmont, California)
College:	UCLA
Undrafted:	2006
Career history
	Baltimore Ravens (2006)*; Amsterdam Admirals (2007); Carolina Panthers (2007); San Francisco 49ers (2007);
	* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
	Player stats at NFL.com

Drew Martin Olson (born April 6, 1983) is an American former professional

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.

Early years

Olson grew up in the affluent town of

varsity letters, and moved Piedmont High School

into the top 10 in the state among small schools.

UCLA. In his freshman year Olson started five games in the second half of the season due to Cory Paus' separated shoulder injury in a game against Cal that sidelined him for four games. For his spectacular performance in five games in 2002, Olson earned the starting job in 2003. In 2003, he appeared in twelve of the thirteen games, nine of which he was the starter for. He completed 173 of 325 passes (53.2%) for 2,067 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions, as UCLA won two fewer games than the previous year, going 6–7. In Olson's junior season, he, his stats, and the Bruins themselves exploded. As the starter in all 12 games, Olson completed 196 of 341 passes (57.5%) for 2,565 yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions (four on deflections). In 2005, his senior season, Olson completed 242 of 378 passes (64.0%) for 3,198 yards, with 34 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. Olson began to make national headlines, and was widely considered the most underrated quarterback in the nation, as UCLA went 10–2 and finished as the 17th ranked team in the country. During his senior season Olson led UCLA to four 4th-quarter double-digit comebacks plus a 22-point rally in the Vitalis Sun Bowl against Northwestern. He threw five touchdowns to rally the team past Washington State, and then passed for six touchdowns the following week against Oregon State to break Cade McNown's single-game school record.^[1] His 11 tocuhdowns in two consecutive games broke Wayne Cook's school record of eight set in 1993.^[2]^[3] Olson also broke Cook's three-game record (11) with 13.^[2]

Olson ended his career at UCLA 2nd on the UCLA all-time passing yardage list (8,532), completions (664) and TDs (67) in his 4-year Bruins career.

Olson graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in history in 2009.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

After going undrafted in the

NFL Europa where he played the 2007 season as the starting quarterback of the Amsterdam Admirals. He finished the NFL Europa season having completed 170 out of 310 passes (54.8% completion percentage) for 1967 yards, 13 Touchdowns, and 13 Interceptions. [1]

Carolina Panthers

In October 2007, Olson was signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad in the wake of a number of injuries at the quarterback position.[2] He was elevated to the 53-man roster before the team's November 11 game against the Atlanta Falcons. He was subsequently cut the week following the game.

San Francisco 49ers

On November 21, 2007, Olson was signed to the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad. He was signed to the team's active roster on December 28, where he finished the season. On July 7, 2008, the 49ers waived Olson in order to make room for quarterback Kyle Wright, who was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings.

UNGL

On January 8, 2009, he was drafted by the

Virginia Swarm in the inaugural draft of the United National Gridiron League

. The UNGL has since been dissolved, owing to financial difficulties and lack of interest.

References

^ Peters, Ken (November 23, 2005). "UCLA's Olson quietly leads nation in passing". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Drew Olson Named UCLA/MET-Rx Student-Athlete of the Week". UCLA Athletics. October 24, 2005. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
^ Hodges, Jim (October 19, 1993). "Cook Tour a Success : UCLA Quarterback Justifies Decision to Make Him Starter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 12, 2024.

External links

LinkedIn profile

[1] Peters, Ken (November 23, 2005). "UCLA's Olson quietly leads nation in passing". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2024.

[ucla_10242005-2] "Drew Olson Named UCLA/MET-Rx Student-Athlete of the Week". UCLA Athletics. October 24, 2005. Retrieved March 12, 2024.

[3] Hodges, Jim (October 19, 1993). "Cook Tour a Success : UCLA Quarterback Justifies Decision to Make Him Starter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 12, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]