Drew Olsen - QB signed to PS

Olson on the way

Submitted by Darin on Tue, 2007-11-06 01:38.
The Panthers are going to sign former UCLA QB Drew Olson to the practice squad Tuesday, giving them another arm for practice this week since they don't know if either David Carr or Vinny Testaverde will be ready.
He worked out here over the bye week, and will take a physical, but that should be a formality.
That will make him the ninth different QB on the roster this year, along with Jake Delhomme, Brett Basanez, Carr, Testaverde, Matt Moore, Dalton Bell (camp), Quinton Porter (practice squad) and Justin Zwick (summer school).

 

Ex-UCLA QB Drew Olson Is an NFL Europe Star
By Larry Brown | May 22, 2007
Posted in Category: Pro Pigskin
I had no idea until I saw it on the crawl somewhere, probably on ESPNEWS. And I know I’m totally opening the door for Trojans out there, but this cannot go unmentioned. Over the weekend, or last week, or whenever the hell they played their last game, Drew Olson led the Amsterdam Admirals to a 41-31 win over the Hamburg Sea Devils. Olson threw for 304 yards and 3 TDs, and ran for another score. Sounds like he’s back to his UCLA form.

And for that matter, Drew was quite underrated with the Bruins. He was second all-time with 8,532 yards, 664 completions, and 67 touchdowns. And yes, he’s good enough to be a professional quarterback.




Drew Olson


Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Piedmont, CA
High School:
Piedmont
Height / Weight:
6-3 / 225
Position:
QB
Birthdate:
04/06/1983
Experience:
2V
UCLA -- Drew enters his senior season as the returning starter and has gained valuable experience during the last three years ... However, he suffered a left knee injury in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl and underwent surgery to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments on January 7, 2005 ... He will not be available to participate on the field during Spring practices ... His status for Fall camp is undetermined ... Olson has completed 422 passes during his 33-game career (26 starts) ... That total ranks No. 4 in UCLA history ... In addition, his 5,334 passing yards rank No. 5 on that UCLA list ... He also ranks No. 7 in career total offense (5,174 yards) ... Demonstrated a higher level of command of the offense last year ... Worked extremely hard in the 2004 off-season to improve his understanding of coverages as well as his strength and agility ... Possesses the ability to process information quickly, throws accurately and is poised in the pocket.

2004 -- 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) ... He ranked fifth in the Pac-10 and 36th in the NCAA in total offense (222.6 yards), sixth in the Pac-10 in passing (213.8 yards), and fourth in the Pac-10 and 40th in the NCAA in passing efficiency (132.39 rating) ... In the Pac-10, his average of 13.09 yards per completion was first among players with at least 100 completions and his completion percentage of 57.48% was fourth ... Olson threw 20 touchdown passes, putting him fifth on that UCLA single-season list ... Only Cade McNown (25 in 1998 and 24 in 1997), Troy Aikman (24 in 1988) and Tom Ramsey (21 in 1982) have thrown for more touchdowns in a season ... His 2,671 yards of total offense rank sixth on that single-season list ... In Olson's last seven regular-season games, he completed 134 of 226 passes (59.29%) for 1,729 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions ... Olson's eight touchdown passes in a two-game span tied the UCLA record for most TD passes in a two-game span (Wayne Cook threw four against BYU and four against Washington in 1993) ... Olson totaled 10 scoring passes in a three-game span (the record is 11 by Cook, 3-4-4) ... In the opener against Oklahoma State, the true junior completed 16 of 36 passes for 252 yards ... He completed passes to six different receivers, including seven to wide receivers, seven to running backs and two to tight ends ... He also had two fourth-quarter interceptions, both on tipped passes ... His 57-yard pass play to Maurice Drew in the fourth quarter was the longest of his career at the time ... He enjoyed an outstanding afternoon at Illinois throwing three touchdown passes (41 and 14 yards to Craig Bragg and 15 yards to Marcedes Lewis) ... On the day, he completed 14 of 21 passes for 208 yards with one interception (tipped pass) ... He led UCLA on scoring drives of 96 and 65 yards on its first two possessions to build a first-quarter lead of 14-0 ... He also had a career-long 29-yard run and finished with 29 net rushing yards ... At Washington, the site of his first career start in 2002, he helped rally the Bruins from a 24-7 deficit ... On the afternoon, he completed 12 of 17 passes for 122 yards and one interception on a deflected pass ... In the second half, he completed nine of 10 passes, including his final seven, for 97 yards and five passing first downs ... Against San Diego State, Olson completed 14 of 29 passes to eight different receivers for 158 yards with one touchdown and one interception ... His 23-yard scoring strike to Tab Perry on third-and-16 gave UCLA a 27-3 lead on its first possession of the second half ... He also led the Bruins to a touchdown on their opening possession of the game ... In the second half, he completed seven of 10 passes (six of eight in third quarter) for 90 yards and one touchdown ... He was at his best in the win against Arizona ... With the running game not as effective as it had been, Olson completed 17 of 25 passes for 234 yards and a career-high four touchdowns with no interceptions ... Three of his five scoring drives measured at least 70 yards ... In the first half, he completed 10 of 13 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns as UCLA built a 23-3 halftime lead ... With UCLA leading 2-0, Olson capped UCLA's opening possession with a pass to fullback Michael Pitre, who rambled 28 yards for the score ... Leading 16-3 with 5:03 remaining in the first half, Olson and the Bruins drove 95 yards to make the score 23-3, the final 12 yards coming on Marcedes Lewis' second touchdown reception ... In the third quarter, following an Arizona touchdown, he drove the Bruins 80 yards to make the score 30-10, throwing an 18-yard strike to Lewis for the score ... At California, Olson threw four touchdown passes for the second straight week, finding Marcedes Lewis for 15 yards, Maurice Drew for 27 and 43 yards and Joe Cowan for 46 yards ... The final TD pass brought the Bruins to within 10 points (38-28) with 2:39 remaining in the game ... On the afternoon, he completed 20 of 36 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions ... He had five completions of at least 25 yards, including three of at least 40 yards ... At Arizona State, Olson rallied the Bruins from a 14-3 deficit to a 42-31 fourth-quarter lead ... On the afternoon, he completed 30 of 44 passes for a career-high 325 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions ... He completed passes to 10 different receivers ... It was the second straight week he set a career best in passing yardage ... His second touchdown pass, a nine-yarder to Tab Perry, gave the Bruins the 42-31 lead ... The 30 completions rank No. 2 in UCLA history, topped only by Troy Aikman's 32 against USC in 1988 ... The 44 attempts tied for No. 7 on that list (Aikman attempted 44 vs. Washington State in 1988 and Steve Bono threw 44 passes vs. Oregon in 1984) and was the second-highest total of his career (he threw 49 passes against Oregon in 2003) ... The last time a Bruin threw for more yards was in 2002, when Cory Paus had 378 against Oregon State ... Against Stanford, the junior completed 17 of 28 passes for 177 yards with one touchdown and one interception ... Against Washington State, he completed 18 of 38 passes for 201 yards with two touchdowns and one interception ... Both touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter as the Bruins tried to rally from a 15-point deficit ... The second TD pass came with 42 seconds remaining in the game, but the Bruins were then unsuccessful on their two-point conversion pass attempt ... In the win at Oregon, he completed 12 of 21 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown ... He also scrambled for 59 yards with a net of 39 yards ... With the score tied at 7-7, he directed back-to-back touchdown drives of 68 and 94 yards to build a 21-7 lead ... Late in the third quarter, Olson and Junior Taylor connected on a slant pass that Taylor turned into an 83-yard touchdown, the seventh-longest pass play in school history ... Nursing a five-point lead (31-26) after an Oregon touchdown, Olson engineered a 12-play drive that used 5:34 and resulted in Justin Medlock's 50-yard field goal and an eight-point lead with just 2:08 remaining ... In the second half, Olson completed seven of nine passes, including his final six attempts, for 132 yards and one TD ... Against USC, Olson completed 20 of 34 passes for 278 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions ... He engineered second-half drives of 81 and 80 yards to pull the Bruins to within five points with 2:20 remaining in the game ... Against Wyoming in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the second quarter ... He also had damage to his medial collateral ligament ... On the night, he completed six of 12 passes for 96 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown strike to Junior Taylor ... He finished the season having thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of the last nine games of the season.

 

Ravens' Olson learning on the job

By Aaron Wilson
Staff Writer
Posted May 14, 2006

OWINGS MILLS -- Drew Olson began his solitary quarterback experience Saturday morning with nervous misfires, overthrowing receivers as spirals collided off the walls of the Baltimore Ravens’ indoor football field. By the end of the weekend, though, the undrafted free agent from UCLA had calmed down considerably.

And it showed, especially Sunday afternoon when the lone quarterback in the Ravens’ rookie minicamp connected with wide receiver Demetrius Williams over the middle for a long touchdown by catching cornerback David Pittman off-guard.

“Early on, it was jitters and rust,” said Olson, who finished eighth in the Heisman voting last season as he threw a school-record 34 touchdowns with six interceptions. “As we kept going, I got settled down and more relaxed.”
Olson acknowledged his surprise that he wasn’t drafted, but was glad to get a phone call from Ravens quarterbacks coach Rick Neuheisel early in the seventh round to signal the team's interest.

The former UCLA quarterback, who won a Rose Bowl for the Bruins in 1984, unsuccessfully tried to recruit Olson out of high school when he was the head coach at the University of Washington, but landed him this time for a modest $1,000 signing bonus.

Ironically, it was $4,000 less than David Koral, Olson's backup at UCLA for the past two seasons, received from the Indianapolis Colts.

It was more about the opportunity in Baltimore than the money for Olson, who turned down offers from the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams. Currently, the Ravens only have incumbent starter Kyle Boller and Brian St. Pierre on the roster and are pursuing Tennessee Titans veteran Steve McNair.

“They’ll probably bring in Steve McNair, so it’s a good situation,” Olson said. “If I’m not on the roster, hopefully I’m on the practice squad."

The scouting report on Olson reveals a heady, albeit somewhat athletically-challenged quarterback with strong intangibles who led several fourth-quarter comebacks during the Bruins’ 10-2 campaign. He completed 242 of 378 passes for 3,198 yards last season, but wasn't a hot commodity in a draft where a dozen quarterbacks were selected.

"To me, I always had something to prove, so not being drafted is a little added incentive," Olson said. "I was surprised not to be taken in the draft, but it wasn’t heart-breaking.”

However, the Northern California native doesn't have ideal size at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds or arm strength. Plus, he has limited mobility.

“He made UCLA competitive,” Ravens director of college scouting Eric DeCosta said prior to the draft. “He doesn’t have the strongest arm and he’s not the fastest or most accurate, but he knows how to win. He might not be a starter, but he’ll definitely be a good backup.”

Baltimore has been trying to develop a young backup for the past few seasons, but was unable to slip 6-foot-6 Derek Anderson through waivers last summer as he signed with the Cleveland Browns.

As the only quarterback at practice, Olson received a lot of individual attention from offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, Neuheisel and Ravens coach Brian Billick. Neuheisel tried to keep Olson relaxed, joking with him that he had better not trip over the cones during an agility drill. He didn't.

The former Pac-10 standout seemed to progress steadily, checking down to his secondary reads and dumping the football off adeptly to running back P. J. Daniels and tight end Quinn Sypniewski.

“It was fun because you get a lot of reps and a lot of experience,” Olson said. “I’d like to think that I’m capable of playing this game at a high level.”

Aaron Wilson writes Ravens Insider and the Carroll County Times in Westminster Maryland.

If you are reading this article via a news portal, you can find the original on RavensInsider.Com
URL:http://www.ravensinsider.com

 

Be Funny if they have to promote Olson to the active roster and go against Atlanta with Moore/Olson 1-2

 

Oh yeah, fucking hilarious

 

It would be their first barbecue.

 

where's Weinke when we need him???

 

trying out with Vikes

 

Trying out for the Vikes.

UPDATE:koy detmer just signed so no weinke.