OLSON READY TO GET THROWING BRUINS PLAN TO OPEN UP OFFENSE, BENEFITING QB.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

UCLA was criticized the past five days for not throwing the deep pass, not throwing enough -- basically not letting its highly regarded, but inexperienced, quarterback put his left-handed print on games.

The decision not to throw the ball more is even more curious, given redshirt sophomore Ben Olson's propensity to complete passes. No one is better at it in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Aside from the play-calling hubbub, Olson has performed well, even surprising himself to a point.

After the first three starts of his UCLA career, Olson said his return to football after not playing for almost four seasons has gone well.

``If anything, it's been a little bit easier than I thought it would be,'' Olson said as the Bruins prepare for Saturday's game against Stanford at the Rose Bowl.

Olson said he still is getting used to the soreness of his body on Sundays and Mondays, and there are passes he would like back, but when asked to throw -- and that is mainly in the short passing game -- he is having success. Olson has connected on 56 of 83 passes, and his 67.5 percent completion is tops among starting quarterbacks in the Pac-10.

``Ben has an interesting makeup in the sense that, on the one hand, he has the ability not to be overwhelmed by the situation, in terms of the notoriety and some of those things,'' said Olson's father, Rick. ``But on the other hand, he has a tremendous amount of confidence in his ability to perform. I think the combination of those two things allow him to keep things in proper perspective.''

But the flip side of UCLA's passing game, one bemoaned by fans after Saturday's loss at Washington, is how few times the strong-armed Olson is being asked to throw the ball. Only one Pac-10 team (Washington State) is attempting fewer passes than UCLA, with Olson is averaging 27.6 passes in three games.

Furthermore, Olson was supposed to bring a downfield dynamic into UCLA's passing game, but he is yet to be given much opportunity to do so. Olson's longest completion to a wide receiver is 24 yards, and few attempts have been made to throw deep.

In the wake of the Washington fiasco, Bruins offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda and coach Karl Dorrell said they would like to throw the ball more. Svoboda said he needed to put more of the offensive trust in Olson, who has five touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Olson, who enrolled at UCLA in January 2005, impressed his teammates quickly with his work ethic, especially his affinity for film study and ability to learn the offense.

``Game plans change every week, so he is digesting new information every week, but he's doing well,'' Dorrell said. ``He's studying, and he's off to a good start this week.''

Yet Olson knows he is a neophyte when it comes to quarterbacking UCLA's complex West Coast offense.

He often beats himself up after games for some of his decision-making, saying after a 318-yard, three-touchdown performance in the season-opening win against Utah, ``Man, I have to get a lot better.''

That's where family helps. They often remind him of the complex ongoing process, namely not playing football for two years while on a Mormon mission, sandwiched by a redshirt season at BYU and as a seldom-used backup last season at UCLA. However, he said patience is something he fights with regularly.

``You have to remember, I haven't played a lot of football,'' said the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder from Thousand Oaks High. ``(The family) tells me that, but they understand the type of person I am. I have to remember it's a process. You get better by experience.''

Currently, Svoboda is going through an inner battle on how to get Olson maximum experience without overexposing him too early in his college career.

After Olson's dazzling debut in which UCLA opened the game with a pass-first mentality, Svoboda criticized himself for making predictable calls Sept. 9 against Rice.

Then, Svoboda came under fire for abandoning the passing game and going ``conservative,'' as he called it, at Washington, where the Bruins relied heavily on the running game. Olson has the ability to change some plays, but only does so a handful of times a game.

``As a quarterback, I try to execute the play that is called,'' Olson said. ``That's all I do. We have the potential to be a very good team. We can be very explosive if we put it all together.''

Despite the limitations the play-calling put on UCLA's passing game, Olson has spread the ball around.

Against Utah, 10 Bruins caught passes. A week later against Rice, Olson completed 13 of 19 for 124 yards and found six receivers. In his 18-completion outing at Washington, nine Bruins had receptions.

``When we throw the ball, he's very accurate,'' UCLA junior receiver Marcus Everett said. ``He finds the open receiver. It seems like he's accelerating on his own.''

Olson said keeping a simple approach is key.

''You can make it as complicated as you want to,'' Olson said. ``You can get out there and second-guess yourself and think too much. You have to try to stay calm, and keep it simple in your mind.''

Olson, 23, says his worldly experience is helping him juggle school, football, and the pressure of being UCLA's quarterback.

``I think he has a good perspective on life, in general,'' Rick Olson said. ``I think he understands there are certain things he can't control, and certain things he can, and he needs to spend all his time worrying about things he can control.''

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UCLA vs. STANFORD

Time: 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Rose Bowl.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports West; 570-AM

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Ben Olson)

(2) Ben Olson shakes hands with linemen Noah Sutherland, left, and Chris Joseph during UCLA's victory over Utah.

Kirby Lee/WireImage.com

Box:

THREE FALLIN'