Dorrell Officially Annoints Big Ben

by Odysseus on Aug 22, 2006 8:29 AM PDT in Football

Further coverage on long-awaited news. In what comes as a surprise to absolutely no one, Karl Dorrell has named Ben Olson the #1 QB. Lonnie White reports:

UCLA's quarterback competition officially came to an end Monday when Coach Karl Dorrell named Ben Olson the starter over fellow redshirt sophomore Patrick Cowan.

The decision did not come as a surprise to many.

"I was taking the mentality that I was the starter until I was told otherwise," said Olson, 23, who transferred to UCLA last year after a two-year Mormon mission and a redshirt season at Brigham Young.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time.... It was definitely a learning experience for me. You learn that things are not always going to go your way and you're not going to get things just handed to you in life. I had to work for this. It's something that I definitely appreciate."

Dorrell said Cowan was unable to beat out Olson.

You have to love Big Ben's attitude. I'll echo N's comments that it would probably be too much to expect a Troy or Cade-like performance in season one. After all, we all remember that Cade had as many interceptions as touchdowns in his second year. Still, with the talent and mental acument Ben has displayed, I think we will see some flashes of brilliance, and hopefully enough to lead the team. Let's also hope that Dorrell does a better job of preparing the backups than he has in years past. QB is a tough position, and the #2 guy is always one hit away from having to take over. Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

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