University of Washington Official Athletic Site - Football
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Olson was a three-year starter at Washington.
Jan. 6, 1998
SEATTLE - Washington junior offensive guard Benji Olson announced today that he will forego his senior season and declare himself for the National Football League draft. Olson becomes the second member of the Huskies' 1997 team to make himself eligible for the upcoming draft. Junior center Olin Kreutz announced in December he would not return to Washington for his senior season. Washington sophomore quarterback Brock Huard will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday to announce his decision regarding the NFL draft. Players declaring themselves for the 1998 NFL draft must do so by Jan. 9, 1 p.m PST.
Olson was a three-year starter at Washington, playing strongside guard his first two seasons and switching to weakside guard for the final nine games of the 1997 campaign. He was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press as both a sophomore and a junior while also earning first-team all-Pac-10 honors both of those seasons. Former Husky quarterback Don Heinrich (1950, 1952) is the only other Washington player to earn first-team All-American honors from the Associated Press twice during his career. Olson was also named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America team in 1997.
Olson becomes the seventh Washington player to declare early for the NFL draft. Here's a look at those players:
Player Draft Selected By Round Drafted Eugene Burkhalter, fs 1990 Not drafted na Steve Emtman, dt 1992 Indianapolis 1st Billy Joe Hobert, qb 1994 Los Angeles Raiders 2nd Lawyer Milloy, fs 1996 New England 2nd Corey Dillon, tb 1997 Cincinnati 2nd Olin Kreutz, c 1998 tba -- Benji Olson, og 1998 tba --
