2017 Football Roster
Roster
Jake Olson
- Position:
- Long Snapper
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 225
- Class:
- Redshirt Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Huntington Beach, CA
- High School:
- Orange Lutheran
@jakeolson61 
@JakeOlson61 • In the News
2018: Olson, who has been an inspiration to and involved with the USC football program since the age of 12 in 2009 when he lost his eyesight to cancer and then in 2017 inspired the entire college football world when he long snapped in 2 games, will serve as a backup long snapper as a junior in 2018.
2017: Olson served as a backup snapper as a sophomore in 2017. In one of college football’s most memorable moments of 2017, he snapped the final PAT in the 2017 season opener against Western Michigan (he was named the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week). He then did so again mid-season against Oregon State on the final PAT. He was a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award and he was honored for his accomplishments at the Lott IMPACT Trophy dinner. He was USC’s Most Inspirational Player. USC prevents contact during any practice drills in which he is involved to make sure he is protected.
2016: Olson did not see action as a reserve walk-on long snapper as a redshirt freshman in 2016.
2015: Olson did not see any action as a reserve walk-on long snapper as a first-year freshman in 2015. He won the 2016 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award, presented to a leader in the world of college football who has realized his or her potential to make a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community. He was a nominee for the 2015 Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award.
HIGH SCHOOL: Olson was a long-snapper at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High as a junior and senior in 2013 and 2014, guided onto the field and positioned over the ball by a teammate.
He also played golf at Orange Lutheran (he usually shot in the 80s).
PERSONAL: He is a business administration major at USC with a B average (3.09 GPA). He was born with retinoblastoma, a cancer of the retina. He lost his left eye when he was 10 months old and, despite numerous procedures on his other eye, he had his right eye removed when he was 12 in 2009 (he spent the day before his 2009 surgery at a USC football practice). He is a motivational speaker and has co-authored 2 books about overcoming adversity. His story has been chronicled nationally, including several ESPN stories (one won a 2018 Sports Emmy). He received a scholarship to attend USC from Swim With Mike’s Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund (because that scholarship is regarded as athletic aid, USC sought and received a waiver from the NCAA so that he did not count against the Trojans’ NCAA-mandated 85 scholarship roster limit). In 2018, he was named to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition for a 2-year term. He was the Grand Marshal and drove in the pace car at a 2018 NASCAR Truck Series Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. He uses a guide dog named Quebec.
