Jake Olson holds NFL dream despite injury history
Jake Olson knows his medical history probably will prevent him from getting drafted, but the Central Michigan tackle has one intriguing line on his resume: he started for parts of two seasons over last year's No. 1 pick.
That was in 2009 and '10, when Olson was the Chippewas' left tackle, Eric Fisher – future top pick by the Kansas City Chiefs – was bouncing between right tackle and guard and Olson's remarkable run of season-ending injuries had not yet begun.
"We're good friends still," Olson told USA TODAY Sports recently. "He posted a picture online that there's a bobblehead of him. I'm like, 'Dude, bring me a bobblehead.' He said, 'No, I'm going to wait until I can get your bobblehead.' He knows that my injuries have screwed me."
Two dislocated kneecaps, a stinger, a ruptured hand ligament and a lot of disappointment later, Olson heads into next month's draft as a long shot not because of talent, but because of the leap of faith it would require for a team to invest in a player who hasn't stayed healthy.
The Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers sent scouts to check out Olson in recent weeks, though, raising hope he'll at least get a chance to show his main problem has been bad luck.
"He's extremely tough," said Chippewas offensive line coach Butch Barry, who coached tight ends the past four years. "Obviously, when you have season-ending injuries like that, it tests your will and there's some struggling points. But he did a heck of a job in terms of battling."
Olson started 12 games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman in 2009 on a Central Michigan team that went 12-2, missing the other two with a sprained ankle. He remained there entering the 2010 season ahead of Fisher, who had entered the program a year later and was still developing physically.
Then, everything – namely Olson's body – fell apart.
Three games into that 2010 season, Olson's right kneecap dislocated, sending him into season-ending surgery. The same thing had happened to Olson's left knee coming out of high school, the product of a congenital disorder that weakens the ligaments holding the kneecaps in place.
He returned to start nine games in 2011 – seven at right tackle and two at left tackle in place of Fisher, who'd taken over there after Olson's injury the previous season – and missing three with a stinger. Two games into the 2012 season, the right kneecap dislocated again.
Olson believes his body may have rejected the cadaver used to strengthen the ligament in his right knee in 2010. Doctors had repaired the left knee using a graft from his own hamstring and did the same thing to the right knee after his re-injury.
"Since then, I don't have a problem with my knees at all," Olson said. "I know when people see that you have knee surgeries, they get nervous to look at you. But I've never torn my ACL or any major ligament."
Granted a medical redshirt and a sixth year on campus, Olson had an opportunity to prove he could avoid a third season-ending injury – only to feel something pop in his right wrist in the season's second game.
He initially pushed down a protruding bone and kept playing, then came out for one series to get a cast. A postgame X-ray revealed the damage, and Olson was headed into another surgery to reconstruct the ligament and insert three pins, which were removed in late November.
"The medical is just a nightmare," an NFC area scout who has studied Olson told USA TODAY Sports, speaking on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons.
"As a player, he's not better than Fisher. I thought (Olson) was kind of a depth guy, but obviously a guy who had length and strength. He has some toughness to him, some grit."
Now 25 years old, Olson cuts an imposing figure at nearly 6-foot-8 and 305 pounds with an 81¾-inch wingspan. At his pro day, he had a 29-inch vertical jump, which would have tied for fifth among offensive linemen at the combine. Barry thinks he has the feet to play left tackle.
Training with his agent, Dr. D.S. Ping, and jujitsu sessions have helped Olson regain his strength, flexibility and endurance. He tells teams he's healthy and stronger than ever. He just has to hope someone will take the gamble on his raw tools and take a longer look in camp.
"You always have people saying, 'Man, you should just quit. You've gone through too much,'" Olson said. "But there's always that part of you that I think is in a lot of great athletes that's like, 'No, you can overcome this. Keep going.'
"Until the day they tell me I'm not going to play, I'm going to keep trying to play."
Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.
