Bruins Hope Olson Makes Up for Lost Time

For UCLA quarterback Ben Olson, it will be a case of better late than never when he leads the Bruins against Utah in the opener for both teams today at the Rose Bowl.

It will be Olson’s first start in nearly five years: Four years after he originally had hoped he would make his college debut as a starter and one year after he thought he would.

“I’ve waited a long time for this,” said Olson, whose last start came in 2001 when he was ranked the best high school player in the nation as a senior at Thousand Oaks High. “I’m really ready for this opportunity. I’m just excited. This couldn’t be any better.”

Olson signed with Brigham Young, and many college football experts thought he would start as a freshman once he got to Provo, Utah.

But the Cougars thought otherwise and Olson was a redshirt in 2002. The next year, Olson left on a two-year Mormon mission to Canada, then began the recruiting process all over again.

He chose UCLA over California, Arizona State and South Carolina only to find another roadblock: Drew Olson (no relation), who beat him out for the starting job last season.

A year later, Ben, 23, is finally getting his chance, and the Bruins are eager to see if he will be worth the wait.

“It’s always interesting whenever a guy has to take charge of the whole team for the first time,” said Jim Colletto, UCLA’s veteran offensive line coach. “It’s important for us to help him by not overloading the guy in his first game. I don’t care who it is, a season opener is always a lot different for the guy playing in his first game of college football than for someone who has played for a while.”

At 6 feet 5, 227 pounds, Olson has all the tools of a star-in-the-making. He has size, a strong left arm, plus the humbleness of a walk-on.

But Olson also steps into the spotlight in a program looking for a new leader after the departure of Marcedes Lewis, Maurice Jones-Drew and Drew Olson, the offensive standouts from last season’s 10-2 team.

“There’s a lot of pressure on him,” senior center Robert Chai, Ben Olson’s roommate last season. “We used to talk about being a quarterback here in Los Angeles and at UCLA. If you do well, everyone loves you. But once you start doing bad, people start to turn against you.”

Utah poses a significant first challenge. The Utes feature an attacking defense that blitzes from all angles.

The leader of the unit is senior Eric Weddle, last season’s Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year. Weddle plays strong safety when the Utes are in the 4-3, and cornerback when they bring in an extra defensive back in long-yardage situations.

Casey Evans, who played free safety last season, will open at linebacker with Steve Tate taking his place in the secondary. Utah also has three cornerbacks -- Brice McCain, Eric Shyne and Shaun Harper -- who are solid in man coverage.

UCLA will try to take some pressure off Olson by running Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell behind a revamped offensive line that was less than sharp at times during training camp. The Bruins also don’t have a receiver with the credentials of Lewis to look for when they really need a first down.

Whether UCLA has managed to shore up those areas is something Utah is sure to test.

“They do a good job of bringing a lot of pressure, and for me to be a first time starting quarterback I’d expect them to see if I can handle it,” said Olson, who completed two of four passes in his only playing time last season. “We’ve studied all kinds of looks and we really don’t know what they will bring. But we’ve got a great game plan. We’ll be ready.”

Colletto said the key for Olson would be to keep it simple.

“We don’t want him to have a million choices to do,” he said. “The more he can understand what is going on on the field, the more comfortable he’ll be.”

Olson is as interested as anyone to see how well he plays. But even if he has a big game, the Bruins will still have to stop Utah’s offense or the game will turn into a shootout.

Senior quarterback Brett Ratliff will be in charge of Utah’s high-scoring spread offense, which ranked as the 12th-most potent in the nation last season, averaging 473 yards a game.

Brian Hernandez, Derrek Richards, Brent Casteel and Marquis Wilson are part of a solid group of receivers who have good speed and hands. Mike Liti and Darryl Poston will be the main ballcarriers for the Utes, who averaged 178.5 yards on the ground last year.

“This is going to be a good test,” said UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell, who is 2-1 in season openers. “Utah has an explosive offense and will be difficult to defend. We’re going to have to play well because we know what type of team they have.”

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lonnie.white@latimes.com