Eric Olsen (American football)

Eric Olsen (born June 16, 1988) is an American football center for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played collegiately for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

He has also been a member of the Washington Redskins.

Early years
Olsen attended Poly Prep School in Brooklyn, New York, where he was both an offensive tackle as well as an defensive end. At offensive tackle, he was never charged with a sack to his quarterback. As a defensive end, he recorded 53 tackles, 8 sacks and forced 3 fumbles.

College career
Olsen played in 44 games during his four years at the University of Notre Dame. He started the last 31 of those games. During his junior and senior years combined he only allowed four quarterbacks sacks.

Professional career
Eric Olsen was projected to be drafted in the fifth or sixth round during the 2010 NFL Draft. He was one of the top performers at the bench press, vertical jump and the 3-cone drill. Olsen was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round (183rd overall). He was expected to compete with J.D. Walton for the starting center job for the Broncos. He was waived by the Denver Broncos September 3, 2011.

On January 2, 2012, Olsen signed with the New Orleans Saints.

Personal
Olsen has one brother, Drew, a safety at Gettysburg College. His father, Andy Olsen, was a New York City firefighter. Just three days before the 9/11 attacks, his father was promoted to Lieutenant. Therefore he was in officer training on September 11, and not with Ladder 80, his firehouse at the time. When his father finally arrived at the World Trade Center site, both towers had already collapsed. A few days later, when he was digging through the rubble, his father found a truck from his firehouse buried and destroyed. None of the firefighters in that particular unit survived.