Ben Olson May Return to Southland

Ben Olson, the top-rated high school quarterback in the country in 2001, returned to his Thousand Oaks home earlier this week with a major decision to make after completing a two-year Mormon mission in Canada.

“I’m really in a unique situation, to be able to go through this again,” said Olson, 21, a lefty who is being recruited again after spending one redshirt season at Brigham Young before leaving on his mission. He will be eligible to play in the fall of 2005.

At BYU, “Nothing went wrong,” he said. “I spent a season redshirting and then went on the mission. I committed early ... in high school. This time I want to make a decision I’m totally comfortable with.

“I want to go through this process smarter this time. I just want to consider all the options.... and like most players, you have to look at your window of opportunity to play. Some places may open up earlier than others.”

Olson said he hopes to have a list of five schools in about 10 days, but UCLA has made a push that has impressed the 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback. He will be on the Bruins’ sideline for Saturday’s game against Washington State at the Rose Bowl.

“Their offense really intrigues me,” said Olson, who threw for 2,989 yards and 30 touchdowns as a senior at Thousand Oaks High. “I’ve always been interested in UCLA, but coming out of high school, it just didn’t quite fit at the time.”

Olson added, though, that UCLA was not the front-runner.

“I’m looking at all of the programs and I’m not sure how long it’s going to take me to reach a decision,” he said. “It’s very wide open and I haven’t ruled anybody out.”

USC, Miami, Louisiana State, Oregon, Arizona State and BYU, where Olson might consider re-enrolling, are high on his list.

His connection with the Trojans is offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who has known Olson since the quarterback was in high school and attended a BYU summer camp.

“That’s a factor because you’d like to go to a place where you’re comfortable,” Olson said.