It’s nearly impossible to find a column praising Drew
Olson these days without the following reference: He’s not
just the best quarterback on his team. He might be the best in
town.
Sportswriters have felt compelled to compare Olson to Matt
Leinart this season, probably because they’ve been so
enamored with the USC quarterback the last couple of years and
don’t really know of anyone else.
The comparison is supposed to be a compliment to Olson, which is
something I never quite understood. The UCLA senior has clearly had
the better season of the two, boasting a higher pass-efficiency
rating, a better touchdown-interception ratio, and more fourth
quarter comebacks.
He’s pretty much been in a league of his own, so on
Tuesday, I asked Leinart whether he was flattered to be compared to
his Bruin counterpart.
“Yeah,” Leinart said without pause, which made me
realize he’s smart enough to make it at the next level.
“Drew’s had a great year. His numbers are unbelievable.
Even in his loss he had a great game.”
No one really knows how Leinart performs in losses, and maybe
that was his subtle way of distinguishing himself. I thought it was
a pretty unnecessary hint, considering all the other steps
he’s taken to avoid being labeled an Olson copycat. During
his collegiate career, he’s thrown left-handed, grown a beard
and rolled with A-list celebrities, all with the obvious intent of
making sure he doesn’t get mistaken for UCLA’s
quarterback.
It’s understandable why Leinart would need to go to such
great lengths. After all, Olson already had five starts under his
belt before he even stepped under center at USC. Knowing that he
wouldn’t be the city’s most recognizable quarterback
when he first started in 2003, Leinart had to make his mark in
other ways.
I’ll give him credit for doing a pretty good job of that.
In his three years leading USC’s offense, he’s won the
Heisman Trophy, passed up a lucrative NFL contract and is now
poised to claim a third consecutive national championship.
Unfortunately, those kinds of things tend to make reporters
forget that Olson is this town’s four-year starter. Despite
starting as a freshman and shining as a senior, Olson plays second
fiddle while Leinart sits front and center for his French horn
solo.
“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the
country,” Olson said. “It’s nice to be mentioned
with someone of his caliber.”
At least the feeling is mutual for Leinart. After acknowledging
that he was flattered by the comparison, the Trojan quarterback
talked about Olson finally stepping up and having a great season in
his last year.
“I’m actually really happy he’s had a good
season,” Leinart said, though sounding a little like an
A-list celebrity pleased to discover the B-list girlfriend he
dumped finally rebounded.
The fact of the matter is Olson has more than rebounded.
He’s on a fast break ready to finish with a slam dunk. Too
bad most people weren’t prepared for this breakaway.
“Stats-wise, he’s as good as anyone in the
country,” UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said of his quarterback.
“What hurts him is that he hasn’t done it with
longevity. He didn’t do it last year. Thus couldn’t
build on it for this year.”
Instead, Olson started from scratch and built a legendary
reputation in a single season. That’s pretty amazing. No
wonder a Heisman Trophy winner is flattered to be compared to
him.
E-mail Finley at afinley@media.ucla.edu if you like
comparing apples and oranges.