This post is not about whether or not Ben Olson is arrogant.

This post is not about whether or not Ben Olson is a traitor.

This post is not about whether or not Ben Olson is a prima donna.

This post is not about whether or not Ben Olson made the right decision when he left BYU.

This post is not about whether or not Ben Olson is a good football player.

This post is about one thing, and one thing only......Ben Olson's comments last year about "being the best RM QB ever."

I keep seeing people refer to his now-infamous comments as if to suggest that Ben Olson claimed to already be the best QB of anyone who has ever served a mission. That is....better than Beck, better than Doman, better than all the rest (even the non-BYU RM QBs).

That is not at all what he said. As I'll explain below, that interpretation of his comments makes zero sense.

The comment was made in the context of other RM QBs who had generally had only moderate success after their mission (note: the comment was made BEFORE Beck's amazing senior season). Olson was asked about the fact that RM QBs had only had moderate success, and he was saying that it's not necessarily appropriate to expect the same from him because he is coming off his mission with more talent and more promise than any other RM QB has had coming off his mission.

This is actually a true statement, although an arrogant one (and a stupid one to make publicly).

Let me explain why the common "cougarboard" interpretation is completely nonsensical:

Well, when Olson made that comment (August 2006), he had used up only 1 year of eligibility....and that year he was a full-time back-up to Drew Olson. As of the date he made those comments, he had attempted a grand total of 4 passes. FOUR! He had 11 career passing yards! Do you really think anyone (even someone as stupid as Olson) would claim to be the best RM QB of all time after having attempted 4 passes in his career? Come on, people. That makes zero sense.

What makes sense....and what is consistent with the actual article (link below)....is that Olson was claiming to be the most talented QB to every go on a mission and attempt to be successful upon returning.

What he said is probably a true statement, although a rather stupid thing to say publicly.

Honestly, I can see reasonable people disagreeing about a lot of things relevant to Ben Olson. I really can. But I can't see a reasonable person looking at the above facts and coming to the conclusion that Ben Olson was claiming to already be the best RM QB of all time. That just doesn't add up.

http://www.realfootball365.com/college/ar ticles/2006/08/missionary-quarterbacks-myt h150806.html