Merlin Olsen Days Away From College Football Kickoff
Success On & Off The Field
Utah State called Merlin Olsen the greatest athlete in its history, and he reached the highest levels of success in every part of his life.
Olsen was a tri-captain and earned All-Conference and All-America honors in both 1960 and 1961. In his senior year, standing 6’5’’ and weighing 265 pounds, Olsen led a defense that allowed just 50.8 rushing yards per game, the best in the country. The team also gave up only 88.6 passing yards and 139.4 total yards per game. That season, the Aggies finished No. 10 in the AP and UPI postseason polls, the only time in school history.
Olsen won the Outland Trophy in 1961 as the nation’s top interior lineman. He left a strong legacy in Utah, earning places in the Utah Sports Hall of Fame, the USU Sports Hall of Fame, and the USU All-Century Football Team. In 1969, the Newspaper Enterprise Association named him to its All-Time All-America Team. In 1980, Olsen became the first NFF National Scholar-Athlete to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
Olsen was not only a standout football player but also an excellent student. He served as president of the Honor Society and received the Army’s award for top military science student. Olsen graduated summa cum laude in 1962 with a 3.67 GPA and a bachelor’s degree in finance. He was a three-time Academic All-American and was named to the All-Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1988. Olsen returned to Utah State in 1971 to earn a master’s in economics, and the university later gave him an honorary doctorate.
Olsen was the first Utah State player ever picked in the first round of the NFL Draft. The Los Angeles Rams selected him, and he spent his entire 15-year career with them. As a tackle, he was part of the Rams’ defensive line known as the “fearsome foursome.” Olsen played in the Pro Bowl 14 times, a record, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year of eligibility.
After he retired from football, Olsen moved into television and starred in Little House on the Prairie for four years. He also worked as a sports commentator for NBC, teaming up with Dick Enberg to cover four Super Bowls and nine Rose Bowls. In 2009, Utah State announced it would name its football field Merlin Olsen Field and put up a statue in his honor. Olsen died on March 11, 2010, after a long battle with cancer.
Another Great # 71, Willie Roaf, Louisiana Tech
Willie Roaf was a finalist for the 1992 Outland Trophy and helped lead the Bulldogs to the 1990 Independence Bowl, their first postseason game since 1978. As a senior captain, he earned First-Team All-South Independent and All-Louisiana honors twice. While at Louisiana Tech, he blocked for two of the school’s top five career rushers and played a key role in the longest rushing play in school history, an 88-yard run by Gerald Lawrence against Southern Illinois in 1991.
Roaf was selected eighth overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 1993 NFL Draft. He went on to have a standout 13-year career with the Saints and Kansas City Chiefs, earning a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012. He was chosen for the Pro Bowl 11 times and is part of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, as well as the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor.
Editor’s Note: The countdown to college football kickoff has been a series on the Last Word on College Football social media platforms for the past 9 years. They consisted of a photo and a small blurb for each player, with the jersey corresponding to the number of days until kickoff. The rank of the players is sourced from articles by Bleacher Report, Fox Sports, and The Athletic. There are also some favorite players of the Last Word on College Football writers. Their bios are sourced from multiple online sources, including but not limited to the College Football Hall of Fame, their Heisman profiles, and school websites.
Main Photo: Utah State Athletics
