Eastern inks Morris' Olson
MORRIS -- For Ben Olson, it was a matter of loyalty.
The Morris High School senior signed a national letter-of-intent to play football at Eastern Illinois University on Wednesday, despite being recruited by such other schools as Air Force, Miami (Ohio), Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Illinois and Indiana.
"Eastern believed in me the whole time," said Olson, a 6-foot-3, 281-pound two-way standout for the Redskins who will most likely play on the defensive line for the Panthers. "They offered me first in May and I was their first committment. I wanted to stay loyal to them since they believed in me when I hadn't played played at all my junior year."
That's right. Olson did not play as a junior. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system, and sat out the entire year. Coincidentally or not, it was the only time in Olson's four years that the Redskins did not reach the state title game. He and classmate Abe Black are the only players in Morris' storied history to be on the roster for three state title games.
After spending most of his junior year recovering from the illness, he went to a camp at Eastern, where he impressed coach Bob Spoo.
"Last year at this time, Ben was real disappointed with how the season went for him," Morris coach George Dergo said. "He was projected as a two-way starter for us, but he lost the whole year. He knew he had a lot of work to do, and it did it. It took time away from basketball for him, and that hurt because he loves basketball. But he knew he had to work hard in the weight room, work on his footwork and stuff like that.
"He went to camps at Eastern and they liked him and he also got some national exposure. Eastern jumped at the chance to get him early and they offered him as soon as they could."
In the course of his four years in the Morris program, Olson saw his role change from year to year, culminating in the position of leader that he grasped with both hands this season.
"He's meant a lot to our program," Dergo said. "He has one gold and two silver medals, and he contributed a lot to all three of those. On Friday nights, there is a very limited number of kids that get the spotlight. There are a lot more that contribute in practices every day. He paid his dues as one of the kids that didn't get the spotlight and this year, he took on the leadership role.
"One of the qualities of being a leader is that other people follow where you're going. You look at any picture before a game this year, and there's Ben leading the team out onto the field, and all the other kids are following him. Sometimes, he was a vocal leader, too. Hopefully that will carry over to Eastern."
Olson plans to major in education at Eastern.
"I want to be a teacher and a coach someday," he said. "I learned a lot from my coaches here at Morris. Last summer, I helped coach my little brother's baseball team, and I loved working with the kids. Eastern has a good education program, so that played into my decision, too."
"It's a great fit for Ben," Dergo said. "A lot of teachers from around the state came from Eastern, and that's what he wants to do. Plus, it's not far away, so his parents can go see him play. A lot of students from Morris go to Eastern, so he will know a lot of people on campus. I'm just real happy for Ben. He deserves this."
