Drew Martin Olson (born April 6, 1983) 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 ...

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 Am ...

. He was signed by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

in 2006. Olson has also played for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

, but never appeared in a regular-season game. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Early years

Olson grew up in the affluent town of

Piedmont, California Piedmont is a small city located in Alameda County, California, United States, completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 11,270 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the region of Piedmont in Italy, and it me ...

, where he was the starting

for the Piedmont Highlanders and gave the small school serious attention in the state, and even national spectacle, especially when he threw to All-Conference receiver, Pete Schneider. Olson led Piedmont to the Bay Shore League championship and was named to the 1st-team All-Bay Shore League team in 2000 and 2001. Olson was also the Bay Shore League Most Valuable Player as a junior. A 3-year starter, Olson completed 439 of 774 passes (57%) for 6,103 yards, 60 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. Olson also demonstrated his athletic talent on the baseball diamond where he played catcher for the Highlanders. Olson became regarded as the top quarterback in the state, No. 6 in the west, No. 16 in the nation, earning four varsity letters, and moved Piedmont High School into the top 10 in the state among small schools.

College career

After

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

from Piedmont High School, Olson enrolled at

. In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year Olson started five games in the second half of the season due to Cory Paus'

separated shoulder A separated shoulder, also known as acromioclavicular joint injury, is a common injury to the acromioclavicular joint. The AC joint is located at the outer end of the clavicle where it attaches to the acromion of the scapula. Symptoms include no ...

injury in a game against

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

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 A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

and only 6

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

. Olson began to make national headlines, and was widely considered the most underrated

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. 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

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

, Olson signed a non-guaranteed contract as an undrafted free agent with the

on May 12, 2006. Olson was cut by the Ravens prior to the start of the 2006 NFL season, but signed to their practice squad. Olson was allocated to now defunct

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

where he played the 2007 season as the starting quarterback of the

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to ...

. 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

Carolina Panthers

In October 2007, Olson was signed to the

practice squad in the wake of a number of injuries at the quarterback positio

He was elevated to the 53-man roster before the team's November 11 game against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

. He was subsequently cut the week following the game.

San Francisco 49ers

On November 21, 2007, Olson was signed to the

' 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 Kyle Wright (born October 18, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and was also a member of the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at the Univers ...

, who was claimed off waivers from the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

UNGL

On January 8, 2009, he was drafted by the Virginia Swarm in the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

draft of the

United National Gridiron League The United National Gridiron League (UNGL) was a proposed professional american football minor league. The league was formed in August 2007 and was originally called the ''United National Football League''. The league's inaugural draft took plac ...

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

External links

LinkedIn profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Drew 1983 births Living people American football quarterbacks Amsterdam Admirals players Carolina Panthers players San Francisco 49ers players UCLA Bruins football players People from Piedmont, California Sportspeople from Alameda County, California Players of American football from San Francisco