When there were no questions left to be asked, when all that could be said was said, Ben Olson sat, shoulders slumped, in the sauna of a visiting locker room.
The battered and bruised quarterback stared at his feet, in the middle of teammates and reporters slowly trickling out, obviously trying to figure out how things went so wrong.
Twenty of 40 on passing attempts. Three interceptions. One fumble. Five sacks. No touchdowns.
His final stats from the Bruins’ game against Utah last Saturday read like a litany of a season gone wrong.
UCLA marched into the game as the overwhelming favorite despite the underwhelming performance of its heralded quarterback. Olson had a bad game against BYU, throwing an interception to go with no touchdowns, and the thinking was that the game against an injury-plagued Utah team would be just the right cure for the physically gifted quarterback who has struggled with his decisionmaking.
Instead, Olson suffered another confidence-shaking outing.
Olson came into UCLA as a savior ““ almost literally. The biggest recruit of the Karl Dorrell era, the giant quarterback was expected to immediately compete for playing time.
In his first fall camp, more than two years ago, Olson was close to being named the starter over incumbent Drew Olson ““ but then was sidelined with a broken hand and watched as Drew Olson went on to have the best season for a UCLA quarterback ever.
In his second season, Olson won the starting job over Pat Cowan, but was sidelined early on in the season, against Arizona, after tearing ligaments in his knee. Again, he watched as another UCLA quarterback reached greater heights, as Cowan went on to beat USC, the first time UCLA had beaten USC in eight years.
And now, in his third season, with the starting job won in spring and all signs pointing toward a great season, Olson has not delivered.
The man who has waited for the opportunity has shown that perhaps he was not ready for it.
And now, with concussion-like symptoms, he will likely be watching from the sidelines yet again.
But Olson is not ready to give up yet. Even in the swamp-like locker room after the game against the Utes, with a mind cluttered by his own poor performance and the countless hits he took due to poor pass protection, Olson was talking about the future and what he needed to do to improve.
“I’m the quarterback of this team, and I need to play better,” Olson said. “I’ve got to do a better job of leading the team and taking care of the ball better. I looked awful, and I need to play better.”
As of Sept. 19, Cowan was likely going to be named the starter for the Washington game, while the doctors were waiting to see if Olson could be cleared to practice.
The time off may prove to be an opportunity to shake off his performance through three games, but the quarterback will not be welcoming it. The man who has desired the starting spot and leadership position on the team from the day his name appeared on the roster will not welcome any time when he is not the starting quarterback.
“I wouldn’t say (he’ll welcome time off),” offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said. “He wants to be the quarterback.”
Olson’s problems are not physical. He has a strong arm, and at 6 feet 5 inches, has the size to see the whole field.
His problem is understanding what he sees.
Olson’s awareness of defenses has not progressed at the rate necessary in the precision-based offense of UCLA. Too many of his passes have the potential to be picked off by defenders ““ too many of them are closer to the defender’s hands than his receiver’s.
Reading of a defense is not something that can be fixed in a week, or two weeks, but it is Norvell’s No. 1 priority for Olson.
“He needs to get better at reading defenses and reading coverages,” Norvell said. “We show him structures in the defenses (in practice). From his film study, we show him things he can anticipate.
“I think he has a good knowledge of what we are trying to do and what we are trying to accomplish. He just needs to tighten a few things up.”
In the West Coast offense, a quarterback needs to be able to trust his receivers, know where they are going to be, and be able to put the ball on the money where it needs to be before the receiver gets there.
Instead, in the games thus far this season, Olson has been largely locking onto his primary receivers, watching as they go through their routes, and then throwing the ball shorter than it should be thrown.
Whatever his struggles on the field, knocking his desire is an impossibility. After practice Wednesday, in street clothes and wearing a pasted-on smile, Olson was the portrait of a quarterback who wanted another shot.
“Of course it’s frustrating (being out),” Olson said. “If it were up to me, I’d be out there.”
If and when his head clears up, and the doctors verify it has, Olson will be back at practice, and he will likely be practicing without the weight of the expectations that he has carried since arriving in Westwood.
Perhaps the one-time savior will then be able to lift himself higher, and show why there were such expectations in the first place.