| Phil Olsen | |
| Position: | Defensive tackle / center |
| Number: | 72, 58 |
| Birth Date: | 26 April 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Logan, Utah, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Weight Lbs: | 265 |
| Height In: | 5 |
| Draftyear: | 1970 |
| Draftround: | 1 |
| Draftpick: | 4 |
| High School: | Logan |
| College: | Utah State |
| Teams: |
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| Statlabel1: | Tackles |
| Statvalue1: | 68 |
| Highlights: |
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| Pfr: | OlsePh20 |
Phillip Vernor Olsen (born April 26, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a center and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos. He was also a member of the Buffalo Bills. He is the younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen.
Olsen was born to Lynn Jay and Merle Olsen. He attended Logan High School in Logan, Utah from 1963 to 1966. He was a three-year starter on the varsity football team as defensive tackle and offensive tackle. An all-around athlete, he earned eight varsity letters in football, basketball and track. While a Logan High Grizzly, Olsen was voted All-Division, All-Region, All-State, and All-American recognition in football, as well as being voted All-Division, All-Region in basketball (averaging 18 points a game as a senior). He was on the top 100 recruits list in football in 1966. He received over 40 college football scholarship offers, and made campus visits to Stanford, the University of Iowa, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, and Purdue University.
Phil Olsen was a three-year letterman and three-year starter, and in 1969 was a consensus All-America selection for the Utah State University Aggies, in Logan. Olsen was an Alpha Sigma Nu Honorary as one of top 12 USU Seniors, 1970, and like his brother Merlin is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Olsen was also the Aggie Team Captain, 1969 Team MVP, and the 1969 USU Athlete of the Year. He received the Wayne Estes Memorial Award, 1970 for "Top USU Student/Athlete/Citizen". His jersey No. 90 was retired in 1970. After his senior season he played in the East West Shrine Game, the Hula Bowl, and College All-Star games.
In Olsen's junior year of 1968 the Aggies were 7–3 and had wins over the University of Wisconsin, Memphis State University, West Texas State, Utah and BYU. He was voted honorable mention All-America honors that season.
In his sophomore year of 1967 the Aggies were 7–2–1 and were seven points from a 10–0 season. USU lost to Colorado State University 16–14 on a controversial officiating call that cost the team a potential game-winning field goal attempt. The Aggies also lost to New Mexico State 10–9 on a failed two-point conversion that tipped off the receiver's hands in the end zone, which would have won the game. USU tied Wichita State 3–3 in the season opener, in which the Aggie defense held Wichita State to 65 total yards and −2 yards rushing. (Former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson was the WSU coaching staff at that time.) Wichita State amassed only 65 yards in that game, the third-best effort in USU history. The Aggies held San Diego State University to −5 yards rushing and the University of the Pacific to −35 yards rushing, setting the then school record in that category in the process.[1]
Olsen was co-captain of the freshman football team and played on the freshman basketball team as well (freshmen were not allowed to play NCAA varsity sports until 1972). Dale Brown, of LSU fame, was Olsen's hoops coach as a freshman. That 1966–67 freshman basketball team still holds the record for most wins by a freshman team at USU.[2]
Olsen was inducted into the State of Utah's Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, and was a member of USU's All-Century Football Team.[3] Inducted into the Utah State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.[4] [5]