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A very special moment for an awesome human being. Jake Olson has been a fan of the USC Trojans forever, and now he will get to realize his dream and play for them this season as a four year player.
USC 2009 Jake Olson honorary Captain #FightOn #USC #TrojanNation #FightOnForever #alwayscompete #uscfootball #FTFO pic.twitter.com/j4ntqcO6Rc
— USC Family (@merlosboys) December 15, 2013
Jake Olson, @USC_Athletics special relationship reaches new heights: http://t.co/MU9sPfBJZn pic.twitter.com/z0D6SHHb0K
— Football Foundation (@NFFNetwork) August 31, 2015
Olson has had retinoblastoma since his birth, a cancer of the retina. He lost one eye at 10 months and the right eye was removed when he was 12 years old. He became a USC fan at the time and watched many Trojan games in person thanks to Pete Carroll and the USC family, and Carroll and Olson have stayed in touch since then (Olson has gone to multiple Seahawk games to inspire the team there too).
Blind Long Snapper Jake Olson Seeking Clearance from NCAA to Play at USC #pac12 #collegefootball pic.twitter.com/RfzymuRNgw
— CollegeTeamShop (@CollegeTeamShop) September 7, 2015
Since then, Olson has worked to become a football player by finding a skill that is super useful: Longsnapper. He walked onto the team at Orange Lutheran and played plenty for them, and eventually was admitted to USC with his impressive academic, extracurricular, and athletic accomplishments.
Now, he's a USC Trojan for real. Read the full story from the Los Angeles Times.
Tomorrow I walk out onto Howard Jones field not as a fan or honorary member, but as a player for the USC Trojans! #fighton
— Jake Olson (@jakethesnakeo) September 15, 2015