Benjamin Dempsey Olson (born June 5, 1975) is an American former college and professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for ten seasons. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and earned All-American honors. He was drafted by the NFL's

Tennessee Oilers Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to the ...

in the fifth round of the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

and played his entire 10-year career with the Tennessee organization.

Early years

Olson was born in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

. He attended

South Kitsap High School South Kitsap High School is a public high school in the South Kitsap School District and is located at 425 Mitchell Ave Port Orchard, Washington. In 2018, the school had the largest student population in the state. History and facilities South K ...

Port Orchard, Washington Port Orchard is a city in and the county seat of Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located due west of West Seattle and is connected to Seattle and Vashon Island via the Washington State Ferries run to Southworth. It is named ...

, and was a letterman in

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

for the South Kitsap Wolves. In football, as a senior, he was named as second-team All-USA selection by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''. In track and field, he was third at the state championship meet as a junior and fourth as a senior.

College career

Olson attended the University of Washington and played for the

Washington Huskies football The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Husky Stadium, located on cam ...

team from 1994 to 1997. As a junior in 1996, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American at guard. As a senior in 1997, he was a first-team All-America selection by the Associated Press and the Walter Camp Foundation.

Professional career

The Tennessee Oilers selected Olson in the fifth round (139th pick overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft,Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History
1997 National Football League Draft
Retrieved February 2, 2012. and he played for the Oilers (later called the Tennessee Titans) from to . After his rookie season, he started every game in which he played, including a total of 140 of the 152 regular season games in which he appeared. In 1999, the Titans made it to

Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 NFL season, 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champ ...

in which Olson started. They lost to the

Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend fr ...

-led

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Benji 1975 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards People from Bremerton, Washington Tennessee Oilers players Tennessee Titans players Washington Huskies football players People from Port Orchard, Washington