Eric Olsen (born June 16, 1988) is a former
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 wi ...
offensive guard
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...
. He was drafted by the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
in sixth round of the
2010 NFL Draft. He played
collegiately for the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...
. He has also been a member of the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
,
Pittsburgh Steelers, and
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
.
Early years
Olsen attended
Poly Prep Country Day School
Poly Prep Country Day School (commonly known as Poly Prep) is an independent, co-educational day school with two campuses in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The Middle School (5th to 8th grades) and Upper School (9th to 12th grades) are loc ...
in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, where he was both an
offensive tackle as well as a
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...
. At offensive tackle, he was never charged with a sack to his
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. As a defensive end, he recorded 53 tackles, 8 sacks and forced 3 fumbles.
College career
Olsen played in 44 games during his four years at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
. He started the last 31 of those games. During his junior and senior years combined he only allowed four quarterbacks sacks.
He was also a member of the first Seligman fraternity pledge class at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Olsen continues to be an active brother and attends annual Seligmania events.
Professional career
Denver Broncos
Olsen was projected to be drafted in the fifth or sixth round during the
2010 NFL Draft.
He was one of the top performers at the
bench press,
vertical jump
A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...
and the
3-cone drill
The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in ...
.
Olsen was drafted by the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
in the sixth round (183rd overall). He was expected to compete with
J. D. Walton
Justin Daniel Walton (born March 24, 1987) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft and has also played for the Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, and New York Giants ...
for the starting center job for the Broncos. He was waived by the Broncos September 3, 2011.
Washington Redskins
Olsen spent the 2011 season on Washington's practice squad.
New Orleans Saints
With the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
heading into the
2011 playoffs, the team signed Olsen off the Redskins' practice squad on January 2, 2012. He was inactive in both of the Saints' games in the playoffs.
He remained with New Orleans for the 2012 season, playing in all 16 games and starting 4 as a blocking tight end. In 2013 was placed on injured reserve during training camp, and later released.
Pittsburgh Steelers
He signed with the Steelers but did not play during the regular season.
Tennessee Titans
On April 3, 2014, Olsen signed with the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
, but he was released at the end of training camp.
Second stint with Saints
The Saints brought Olsen back for a second stint with the team on October 22, 2014. He was expected to provide additional depth on the line after an injury to
Jonathan Goodwin meant that backup center
Tim Lelito would be starting. He was released on November 12, 2014.
Second stint with Titans
Olsen returned to the Titans after they signed him on November 25, 2014.
Cleveland Browns
The
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
signed Olsen on May 26, 2015. On September 5, 2015, he was released by the Browns.
Personal life
Olsen has one brother, Drew, a former
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly dif ...
at
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...
. His father, Andy Olsen, was a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
firefighter. Just three days before the
9/11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...
, his father was promoted to Lieutenant. Therefore, he was in officer training on September 11, and not with Ladder 80, his firehouse at the time. When his father finally arrived at the
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounded by Vesey Street to the north ...
, both towers had already collapsed. A few days later, when he was digging through the rubble, his father found a truck from his firehouse buried and destroyed. None of the firefighters in that particular unit survived .
References
External links
New Orleans Saints bioTennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Eric
1988 births
Living people
Players of American football from New York (state)
American football centers
American football offensive guards
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players
Denver Broncos players
Washington Redskins players
New Orleans Saints players
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Tennessee Titans players
Cleveland Browns players
Poly Prep alumni