2021 CTA Week 5 Football Player of the Week: Cadin Olsen (Armstrong)

Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen holds his mouth guard during a game.

SOURCE: (Twitter, @CadinOlsen)

STUD ALERT: It's not an understatement to say that Cadin Olsen has had an impressive junior year up to this point of the season. In the first six weeks of the season, Olsen has thrown for 1,180 yards and 17 touchdowns. In Armstrong's 37-0 road victory over Mars in Week 5, Olsen threw for 144 yards and one touchdown and he even rushed for 142 yards for four touchdowns on runs of 7,1,15 and 3 yards. Armstrong currently has an overall record of 4-2 and a conference record of 2-1.

Questions & Answers:

You balled out on the road against Mars. You rushed for four touchdowns and you threw a touchdown pass as well. What was going right for you in the game?

Cadin Olsen: From the beginning, we started pretty slow, which is exactly what we were trying not to do last week. However, we quickly got things turned around. Assignment wise, we had a couple miscommunications which resulted in some losses. But overall, as the game went on, our run game started to click a lot more.

How did you celebrate after beating Mars?

CO: As soon as we got in the locker room, we just started doing everything we could to have fun. It’s the first time Armstrong beat Mars in a couple years, so we took some pictures and just had a blast on the ride home.

Your team is back at home on Friday against Greensburg Salem, which has a talented quarterback in Hayden Teska. Without giving away secrets, what do you think your team has to do extend the winning streak to three?

CO: I think that we must have a great week of practice and preparation in order to prepare for them. Obviously, Hayden is a great player based on the stats that he has put up, and he will make us pay if we make mistakes on defense. So, I think we must be locked in and focused on our assignments at practice in order to maximize our potential for this Friday. It’s going to be a great game and I’m excited to be able to play against him.

Tell me the impact that your head coach Frank Fabian has had on you as a quarterback and the way that you understand the game of football.

CO: He has been a great coach for me ever since my freshman year. He has taught me more football than I could ever imagine over these three years so far, and he has been a great asset in my performances so far. He’s given me the ability to check certain plays and the fact that he trusts me to do that stuff is something I’m very grateful for.

Comparing yourself from freshman year to now, what's the biggest improvement that you have noticed about yourself playing the quarterback position?

CO: The biggest improvement that I feel I’ve made is my knowledge of football. Coach Fabian has taught me so much about the game and reading defenses, it is almost unimaginable. I’m very grateful to be around someone like him every day because there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new.

Now, what's something that you still want to improve on as a quarterback?

CO: I definitely want to improve on my footwork and strength. I feel like I’ve made an improvement on that from last year but that’s definitely something I’m going to focus on this off-season.

Junior year is known for many high school football players as a big year when it comes to college recruitment. What has the process been like for you?

CO: So far, it has been pretty good for me. I don’t have any offers yet but I have been talking to Wisconsin, Western Michigan, Toledo, Yale and Penn the most so far.

You also play basketball for Armstrong. How much fun do you like playing basketball, and has playing the sport helped you become a better football player in any way?

CO: I really enjoy playing basketball because I’ve played it all of my life and it helps a lot with conditioning and footwork for football.

When it comes to athletics as a whole, which school do you think is Armstrong's biggest rival?

CO: I think our biggest rival is probably Kiski. Unfortunately, we don’t play them this year in football.

What is something that people would be surprised to know about you?

CO: I started playing quarterback in only 8th grade.

Brentaro Yamane: bkyamane@gmail.com and Twitter/Instagram @BYHilton13