Igor Olshansky

Igor Olshansky

refer to caption

Olshansky before a 2009 game
No. 99, 95
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1982-05-03) May 3, 1982
Place of birth: Dnipropetrovsk, Soviet Union
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 315 lb (143 kg)
Career information
High school: San Francisco (CA) St. Ignatius
College: Oregon
NFL draft: 2004 / Round: 2 / Pick: 35
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 264
Sacks: 12.5
Interceptions: 1
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Igor Olshansky (/oʊlˈʃænski/; born May 3, 1982) is a Ukrainian-born former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He also played for the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

Early years

Olshansky was born in the industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, Soviet Union.[1][2] His father Yury had played basketball for the Red Army.[3][4] Shortly before the break-up of the Soviet Union, he and his family moved to San Francisco in 1989, when he was seven years old.[3][4][5] His maternal grandfather, Abraham Rubshevsky, fought in World War II for the Red Army, and was injured 11 times. [3][4]

Olshansky is Jewish, and said "It's who I am; my culture; my roots".[1][6][7] During his youth he attended the Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy in San Francisco, headed by Rabbi Pinchos Lipner, an Orthodox Jewish day school.[3][4][8] He then attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory on a basketball scholarship, and – already 6' 5" in the 10th grade – played basketball for the school until his junior year, while concurrently playing basketball in the Maccabiah Games in St. Louis and Milwaukee.[3][7][9] After two years, he also began playing football in his junior year in high school.[4][5]

College career

At the University of Oregon, where he majored in psychology, Olshansky was honorable mention academic All-Pac-10 in his freshman year, and picked for Sports Illustrated’s All-Bowl Game team at the end of the season.[10] He was honorable mention All-Pac-10 as a sophomore, second-team All-Pac-10 as a junior, and recipient of the Joe Schaffeld Trophy as the Ducks’ top defensive lineman after both his sophomore and junior seasons.[11] He was used at all defensive line positions.[5]

In his career at Oregon he had 146 tackles (89 solos), 11.5 sacks, 3 blocked kicks, and one 37-yard interception return in 38 games.[12][13] Olshansky left school following his junior season, with one year of eligibility remaining.[12]

He set a team record with a 505-pound bench press, and also holds team records in the clean and jerk and squat.[4][14]

Professional career

2004 NFL Combine

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 5 in 315 lb 4.96 s 1.75 s 2.80 s 4.41 s 7.61 s 33.5 in 9 ft 2 in 43 reps
All values from NFL Combine

In early try-outs for the draft, he bench-pressed 102.1 kilograms (225 lbs) 43 times on one try, two presses short of the rookie record.[3] He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds and jumped 33.5 inches from a stationary position.[4][7] He scored high on the Wonderlic intelligence test in spite of still being unfamiliar with the English language.[5] A National Football Conference scouting director observed: "He can play both end and tackle, he can control the point and rush the passer, he's a very good athlete."[12]

San Diego Chargers

In the second round (35th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft, the San Diego Chargers selected Olshansky out of the University of Oregon.[15] In August 2004, Olshansky and the Chargers agreed on a 6-year contract, with the final year being voidable. The contract called for a $2.25 million signing bonus and had a value of $5.2 million over five years, through the 2008 NFL season. He became the NFL's first Soviet-born player.[4][16]

In his rookie season in 2004, he started all 16 of the team's games.[17][18]

Olshansky was ejected from a game against the Denver Broncos on November 19, 2006. He punched Broncos center Tom Nalen after what appeared to be Nalen trying to cut block Olshansky on a clock-stopping spike play. Olshansky had recently had knee surgery when Nalen went after Olshansky's knees. Two days later, the NFL fined Nalen $25,000 for the cut block, more than double the $10,000 fine Olshansky received for the punch.[19]

With the Chargers, he had 151 tackles and 11 sacks in 75 games, starting all but 5 of them.[7][20]

Dallas Cowboys

Olshansky signed a four-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys on March 6, 2009.[7] The deal was worth $18 million, with $8 million of it guaranteed.[21] He finished the season with 76 tackles (seventh on the team), 2 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures and 3 passes defensed.

In 2010, he started 14 games, registering 38 tackles (tenth on the team), one tackle for loss, 4 quarterback pressures and 2 passes defensed.[22] He was released on September 3, 2011.[23][24]

Miami Dolphins

Olshansky was signed by the Miami Dolphins on September 20, 2011. He was waived on November 30.[25]

NFL stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2004 SD 16 39 24 15 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2005 SD 14 29 18 11 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2006 SD 13 33 18 15 1.5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2007 SD 16 49 35 14 3.5 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
2008 SD 16 29 21 8 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009 DAL 16 40 29 11 1.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010 DAL 16 38 17 21 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2011 MIA 8 7 4 3 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 115 264 166 98 12.5 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 8

[26]

Key

Personal life

He has many tattoos, including two Stars of David on his neck.[7][27] He is regularly featured in Jewish news publications.[8]

Olshansky is married to Liya Rubinshteyn, whom he met at the Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy in San Francisco. They live in Dallas, and have a son.[10]

He was arrested Thursday, December 1, 2011, for marijuana possession as part of an undercover bust that resulted in 280 arrests. The Broward Sheriff’s Office went to Olshansky’s condo in Fort Lauderdale to investigate Olshansky’s friend, but ended up arresting both men. He was charged with possession of 19 grams of marijuana.[28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ezra Mendelsohn (2009). Jews and the sporting life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195382914. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  2. ↑ Josh Dubow. "Lineman from Ukraine Could be First-Round Pick". Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Levi Brackman, Rivkah Lubitch (June 20, 1995). "NFL star: Judaism is part of me". Ynet. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Barry Horn (September 26, 2009). "A spiritual force: Cowboys' Igor Olshansky takes a fierce pride in his Jewish faith". Victoria Advocate. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ira Miller (April 14, 2004). "NFL DRAFT PREVIEW / Football no longer foreign to Olshansky". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  6. ↑ "2011 NFL Football Preview". Jewish Sports Review 8 (87): 6–7.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Josh Whisler (August 2, 2009). "Cowboys add muscle on defense with Olshanksy". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Berkwits, Jeff (July 1, 2004). "Sampson of the gridiron". San Diego Jewish Journal
  9. ↑ Joe Eskenazi (April 30, 2004). "I-Gor! I-Gor!: From Hebrew Academy playground to NFL playbook". Jweekly. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  10. 1 2 David Elfin (Fall 2010). "Igor Olshansky: Samson of the Gridiron". Bnai Brith Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  11. ↑ John Tranchina. "Igor Olshansky continues to provide a presence on the defensive line". Dallascowboys.com. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  12. 1 2 3 "Igor Throws his Weights Around". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Igor Olshansky, DT, Oregon". USA Today. May 18, 2005. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Igor Olshansky’s brute strength could make him a sleeper pick". Portland Tribune. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  15. ↑ Bob Boyles, Paul Guido (2008). The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Modern Reference to America's Most Colorful Sport, 1953–Present. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. ISBN 9781602393318. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  16. ↑ Eric Stephens (August 24, 2004). "Chargers Have Faith in Him; Jewish players are rare in the NFL, but many feel Olshansky will be an impressive rookie". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  17. ↑ Harvey Rosen (October 20, 2005). "Jewish players, owner score in pro football". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Rookie Scores as NFL’s First Player From Former Soviet Union". Forward. September 17, 2004. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  19. ↑ Kevin Acee,"Olshansky-Nalen incident in back of Chargers' minds", San Diego Union-Tribune, December 5, 2006.
  20. ↑ "Igor Olshansky, DT for the Miami Dolphins at". Nfl.com. September 18, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  21. ↑ Rick Herrin, "Cowboys sign veteran defensive end Olshansky", Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 7, 2009.
  22. ↑ "Dolphins sign DL Olshansky, CB Jones to shore up defense". Nfl.com. September 11, 2001. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  23. ↑ "Cowboys cut DE Igor Olshansky". SportingNews.
  24. ↑ http://www.nbcdfw.com/blogs/blue-star/Former-Cowboys-DE-Olshansky-Signs-With-Miami-130290548.html
  25. ↑ http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7299302/miami-dolphins-waive-kicker-shayne-graham
  26. ↑ "Igor Olshansky Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  27. ↑ "San Francisco 49Eers Select Jewish Safety Taylor Mays". San Francisco Sentinel. April 30, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2010
  28. ↑ "Former Miami Dolphin Igor Olshansky arrested on marijuana charge". Sun Sentinel.

External links

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