WHEN JAKE OLSON was 10 months old, he lost to use of his left eye due to a rare cancer of the retina.
By the age of 12 — after the cancer had come back eight times — he had lost his sight completely.
Before it went, Olson made it known he wanted to see one final American football game involving his beloved University of Southern California Trojans.
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Pete Carroll, now the Super Bowl winning coach of the Seattle Seahawks but then coach of USC, heard his story and got in touch with the family which resulted in this brilliant piece on ESPN’s College Game Day:
Carroll wasn’t just playing it up for the cameras. He kept in touch with Olson’s family and has hosted them at a number of Seahawks games since becoming head coach. He also asked Seattle’s Clint Gresham to teach Olson how to play long-snapper.
Now the LA Times reports that Olson has been admitted to USC and has received a Swim with Mike Scholarship with is awarded every year to physically challenged athletes.
And according to current USC coach Steve Sarkisian, the boy who once inspired the team could one day play on it:
“Someday, he’s going to snap in a game for us. “When? I don’t know. But it will happen.
“When that day comes, it will be awesome.”
And Carroll is a big fan of the move, saying:
““I can’t even fathom what an extraordinary thing that would be.”
A blind kid who once inspired a college football team may end up playing for them
WHEN JAKE OLSON was 10 months old, he lost to use of his left eye due to a rare cancer of the retina.
By the age of 12 — after the cancer had come back eight times — he had lost his sight completely.
Before it went, Olson made it known he wanted to see one final American football game involving his beloved University of Southern California Trojans.
Pete Carroll, now the Super Bowl winning coach of the Seattle Seahawks but then coach of USC, heard his story and got in touch with the family which resulted in this brilliant piece on ESPN’s College Game Day:
Carroll wasn’t just playing it up for the cameras. He kept in touch with Olson’s family and has hosted them at a number of Seahawks games since becoming head coach. He also asked Seattle’s Clint Gresham to teach Olson how to play long-snapper.
Now the LA Times reports that Olson has been admitted to USC and has received a Swim with Mike Scholarship with is awarded every year to physically challenged athletes.
And according to current USC coach Steve Sarkisian, the boy who once inspired the team could one day play on it:
“Someday, he’s going to snap in a game for us. “When? I don’t know. But it will happen.
“When that day comes, it will be awesome.”
And Carroll is a big fan of the move, saying:
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blind faith College Football Jake Olson Long snapper Pete Carroll Seattle Seahawks US sports USC Trojans