Robert Olson, a 6-5, 270-pound offensive tackle from Eden Prairie (MN) High, is one of the top offensive lineman in the state. Olson was named to the KARE 11 and Star Tribune All-Metro team and the Minnesota Vikings and Associated Press All-State teams. He was one of the ten finalists for the Minnesota Mr. Football Award and helped lead the Eagles to their third straight state title.
Olson spoke to Gopher Hole Thursday night about the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: You told me that you have a college coach coming over to the house. Who is visiting you tonight?
Robert Olson: Coach Cosgrove from New Mexico.
Gopher Hole: I don’t know if you know much about him, but he used to be a coach at Minnesota.
Robert Olson: Yes. He had told me that. He has told me some stories about being up there
Gopher Hole: Are you still hearing from the Gophers?
Robert Olson: A little bit. I guess the last time I heard from Coach Miller was about two weeks ago. We talked on the phone for a little bit.
Gopher Hole: You are visiting Oregon State Friday. Do you have anything planned the following weekend, which is the last weekend before the Signing Day?
Robert Olson: I do not have anything planned as of right now.
Gopher Hole: Have you narrowed down your list of schools that you are considering or are you pretty wide-open?
Robert Olson: I have made it down to a couple of them. The ones that I visited are my top schools
Gopher Hole: You visited Kentucky last weekend and South Dakota State the weekend before that. Have you taken any other visits besides those two leading up to this weekend?
Robert Olson: I went to Princeton in December.
Gopher Hole: Have the Gophers talked to you about a preferred walk-on or have they even gotten that far along in the process?
Robert Olson: Coach Miller said that if he was going to give me anything it would be a scholarship offer. He said that with the offers I have, it would be hard for me to take a preferred walk-on when there is money out there at a high level. So he said that they have a few guys with offers as of right now and he would just keep me posted with where they were at and if anything was going to change with me. That is where we left things.
Gopher Hole: Has the recruiting process been a little bit stressful because I am assuming that a lot of your friends who aren’t athletes kind of already know where they are going to college, while you are still a little bit up in the air? Is that stressful for you or do you figure that is just part of the process?
Robert Olson: That is not really the stressful part. The stressful part for me is just been how long it has been for me. It is an ever changing thing. For me, the stressful part is trying to keep up with everything. You get colleges that will pop up here and they will kind of disappear and you’ll get new one that will pop up next day. For me, that is the stress part. Keeping everything straight, to be honest.
Gopher Hole: How many offers are you up to right now? I think the last I saw was ten, but I am not sure if that is accurate.
Robert Olson: I have 11 offers.
Gopher Hole: The list I saw had Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Oregon State, Princeton, South Dakota State, Wofford and Wyoming.
Robert Olson: Wyoming, with the new staff up there, did not re-extend my offer, so that one is not there and Dartmouth and Yale were the other two.
Gopher Hole: Has Kentucky offered you yet?
Robert Olson: They have not. Their wording was that they have a couple of spots left for offensive linemen and they have a couple of guys that they are hoping to hear from after this weekend and they said after that he said depending on what those guys do or what they decided this weekend, we will be able to talk more.
Gopher Hole: Do you think that it is your size and the fact that you are not 280, 290 or 300 pounds. Do you think that is the reason that you don’t have higher offers than you do?
Robert Olson: I have heard that from a few coaches. With my development, if I was, like you said 20 or 30 pounds heavier, I would be one of the top guys that they would be watching because I have like a year of development before I can kind of catch up to a few guys, which might be some of the reasons, but I have heard that from a few coaches.
Gopher Hole: The way that I would look at if I was you is that you are probably going to redshirt anyways and hopefully with one year you could maybe put on those pounds and be on an even footing with everyone else?
Robert Olson: Yes. That has been my goal. I am hoping to gain some weight before I head out to whatever school I am going to this summer and hopefully put on some more once I get out there.
Gopher Hole: What are you up to right now, height and weight-wise?
Robert Olson: Six-foot-5 is my height and I am about 270 pounds.
Gopher Hole: So you have put on quite a bit of weight even from last year, right?
Robert Olson: Yes. I have been working at it. I have been actually working at it every offseason. At the beginning of my sophomore year, I was 200 pounds and I put on about 40 pounds before my junior year and another 30 for senior year and I am hoping for another 20 or 30 this year.
Gopher Hole: I don’t know if you have talked to your doctors, but do you feel that you have the frame where you can put on 20, 30 pounds fairly easily to get ready for that next level?
Robert Olson: Yes, sir. I have been able to do it and you just have to keep hitting the weight room and working out and putting on the good weight. I think that it wouldn’t be a problem to add that weight.
Gopher Hole: What has been your favorite part of the recruiting process?
Robert Olson: Probably getting out to see all the places. Getting out and getting to a few different spots across the country. I have been able to get way out East and see Princeton and then go South and see Kentucky and now head out West this weekend. For me, that has been the most exciting part, is just getting out and seeing a whole bunch of different spots across the country.
Gopher Hole: What about least favorite part?
Robert Olson: Probably the length and the time that I have put into it. It started for me back in June and it has kind of been a never-ending process since then. That would be the only thing. It adds a little stress to your senior year, which is good, too. It is a great position to be in. It is just a little extra stress.
Gopher Hole: The signing date is coming up on the 5th. Are you planning on trying to sign before then or would you wait? Have you even thought the far yet?
Robert Olson: I am hoping to decide before the signing day, would be my goal. I would prefer to go into the day knowing where I am going.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main factor that is going to make you pick School A over School B or C?
Robert Olson: For me, the most important part of this whole process has been the people and all the programs that I have looked at. I just have a gut feel about how I feel for the people when I go out to see a school. I think that is what is going to come down to.
Gopher Hole: I know that you went down to two Gopher games, the Nebraska and Wisconsin games. Have you been down to the campus to look at it much?
Robert Olson: I went down to Junior Day, their summer camp and two games, like you said. I have been down there a few times. I think that I have a pretty good feel for where their staff is and I got to see the facilities a few times when I was down there for Junior Day, especially.