Olson “confident” heading into NFL Combine
2/24/2020 6:50:00 PM | Football
After the football season wrapped up and he had walked in the University of Montana's Winter Commencement Ceremony, former Grizzly linebacker Dante Olson packed his bags and moved to California's Bay Area to begin the next chapter of his storied career: training for the NFL.
With a busy January spent winning the Buck Buchanan Award, leading his team in the East-West Shrine Bowl in tackles, being honored for his community service at the Sugar Bowl, and a February spent training, the time has come for the rubber to meet the road.
On Tuesday, Olson will board a plane for Indianapolis to become the first Grizzly since Zack Wagenmann in 2015 to show out for the professional scouts and coaches at the NFL Combine.
Since early January, Olson has been undergoing daily combine-specific training at California Strength in San Ramon, the same facility where former Grizzly greats like Tyrone Holmes and Jordan Tripp prepared their bodies for the NFL.
His daily workouts ranged from upper and lower body strength training to yoga, linear and top-end speed work to agility drills, and even boxing. For the nation's leading tackler and Big Sky Conference record-holder, it was a grind, but as he gets set to head to Indy, he says he's more prepared than ever to perform at the highest level.
"Training has been fun. It's a good process, it's a cool place, a lot of good guys, a lot of good athletes," said Olson, who is in a group of 12 prospects training at the same facility.
"It's definitely different than football training. It seems like you're trying to be a track star one day of the year because it's tailored to the events, which is important. It's something I'm not used to, but its' something I'm excited for."
Luckily for Olson, he's had at least one guy there to help push him in his training: former Grizzly safety Josh Sandry. The Bigfork native is also training for an NFL opportunity at California Strength. His chance won't come at the Combine, however, but at Montana's Pro Day on April 6 in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
"We obviously trained together for five years, so we know how to push each other. It would be sweet if all the guys could come down, but it's cool to have a good buddy here with me," said Olson.
Also there to raise the level of internal competition are players from Stanford, UCLA, Washington State, Maryland, Wyoming, and Georgia, giving Olson an FBS-level measuring stick with which to compare his results.
While the 202O Combine officially got underway on Sunday, the on-field portions of the week-long event at Lucas Oil Stadium are just the tip of the iceberg of Olson's Combine experience. For many players, the drills are one of the least important parts of the week.
Olson's workout on Saturday will cap his six-day stay after having gone through orientation, interviews, measurements, a medical exam, more interviews, media obligations, more medical exams, a position coach interview, psychological testing, an NFLPA meeting, more interviews, the bench press, and more psychological testing.
After arriving in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Olson will spend Wednesday and Thursday in those meetings, exams, and interviews.
His first physical test is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28, from 2-9 p.m. (MT), with the bench press. The remainder of his on-field workouts are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 29 in the same time slot along with the other linebackers and defensive linemen in attendance.
It's a full schedule, which is fitting for what essentially amounts to a job interview, and Olson thinks he's ready to nail it.
"During this whole process, you just have to be confident in yourself and your abilities because, at the end of the day, you go out and do the drills. It's not a team drill; you're doing it for yourself," he added.
"I feel like I'm prepared. I'm a little nervous, but I feel like nerves are good, it means you care about it. I'm looking forward to it for sure."
Olson is one of 337 prospects invited to this year's Combine. He is the only linebacker and one of just 12 prospects from the subdivision to receive an invite.
With the Combine moved to the evening, the event will be broadcast nationwide in Primetime for the first time in 2020. NFL Network will present seven straight hours of workout coverage on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Rich Eisen will host and analyst/draft expert Daniel Jeremiah will anchor the Network's Combine coverage.
Television coverage of the 2020 NFL Combine on-field workouts starts Thursday (2-9 p.m. MT), Friday (2-9 p.m. MT), Saturday (2-9 p.m. MT), and Sunday (12-5 p.m. MT), and will air exclusively on NFL Network. Fans can also live stream the 2020 NFL Combine for free on mobile devices and tablets via the NFL App or the NFL Network app.
Olson's NFL Combine Schedule
Tuesday, 2/25 Arrive in Indy
Registration
Orientation
Interviews
Wednesday, 2/26 Measurements
Pre-exam at hospital
Interviews
Thursday, 2/27 Media
Medical Exams
Position Coach Interviews
Psychological Testing
Friday, 2/28 NFLPA Meeting
Interviews
Bench Press
Psychological Testing
Saturday, 2/29 Limited testing/interviews
On-Field Workout
With a busy January spent winning the Buck Buchanan Award, leading his team in the East-West Shrine Bowl in tackles, being honored for his community service at the Sugar Bowl, and a February spent training, the time has come for the rubber to meet the road.
On Tuesday, Olson will board a plane for Indianapolis to become the first Grizzly since Zack Wagenmann in 2015 to show out for the professional scouts and coaches at the NFL Combine.
Since early January, Olson has been undergoing daily combine-specific training at California Strength in San Ramon, the same facility where former Grizzly greats like Tyrone Holmes and Jordan Tripp prepared their bodies for the NFL.
His daily workouts ranged from upper and lower body strength training to yoga, linear and top-end speed work to agility drills, and even boxing. For the nation's leading tackler and Big Sky Conference record-holder, it was a grind, but as he gets set to head to Indy, he says he's more prepared than ever to perform at the highest level.
"Training has been fun. It's a good process, it's a cool place, a lot of good guys, a lot of good athletes," said Olson, who is in a group of 12 prospects training at the same facility.
"It's definitely different than football training. It seems like you're trying to be a track star one day of the year because it's tailored to the events, which is important. It's something I'm not used to, but its' something I'm excited for."
Luckily for Olson, he's had at least one guy there to help push him in his training: former Grizzly safety Josh Sandry. The Bigfork native is also training for an NFL opportunity at California Strength. His chance won't come at the Combine, however, but at Montana's Pro Day on April 6 in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
"We obviously trained together for five years, so we know how to push each other. It would be sweet if all the guys could come down, but it's cool to have a good buddy here with me," said Olson.
Also there to raise the level of internal competition are players from Stanford, UCLA, Washington State, Maryland, Wyoming, and Georgia, giving Olson an FBS-level measuring stick with which to compare his results.
While the 202O Combine officially got underway on Sunday, the on-field portions of the week-long event at Lucas Oil Stadium are just the tip of the iceberg of Olson's Combine experience. For many players, the drills are one of the least important parts of the week.
Olson's workout on Saturday will cap his six-day stay after having gone through orientation, interviews, measurements, a medical exam, more interviews, media obligations, more medical exams, a position coach interview, psychological testing, an NFLPA meeting, more interviews, the bench press, and more psychological testing.
After arriving in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Olson will spend Wednesday and Thursday in those meetings, exams, and interviews.
His first physical test is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28, from 2-9 p.m. (MT), with the bench press. The remainder of his on-field workouts are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 29 in the same time slot along with the other linebackers and defensive linemen in attendance.
It's a full schedule, which is fitting for what essentially amounts to a job interview, and Olson thinks he's ready to nail it.
"During this whole process, you just have to be confident in yourself and your abilities because, at the end of the day, you go out and do the drills. It's not a team drill; you're doing it for yourself," he added.
"I feel like I'm prepared. I'm a little nervous, but I feel like nerves are good, it means you care about it. I'm looking forward to it for sure."
Olson is one of 337 prospects invited to this year's Combine. He is the only linebacker and one of just 12 prospects from the subdivision to receive an invite.
With the Combine moved to the evening, the event will be broadcast nationwide in Primetime for the first time in 2020. NFL Network will present seven straight hours of workout coverage on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Rich Eisen will host and analyst/draft expert Daniel Jeremiah will anchor the Network's Combine coverage.
Television coverage of the 2020 NFL Combine on-field workouts starts Thursday (2-9 p.m. MT), Friday (2-9 p.m. MT), Saturday (2-9 p.m. MT), and Sunday (12-5 p.m. MT), and will air exclusively on NFL Network. Fans can also live stream the 2020 NFL Combine for free on mobile devices and tablets via the NFL App or the NFL Network app.
Olson's NFL Combine Schedule
Tuesday, 2/25 Arrive in Indy
Registration
Orientation
Interviews
Wednesday, 2/26 Measurements
Pre-exam at hospital
Interviews
Thursday, 2/27 Media
Medical Exams
Position Coach Interviews
Psychological Testing
Friday, 2/28 NFLPA Meeting
Interviews
Bench Press
Psychological Testing
Saturday, 2/29 Limited testing/interviews
On-Field Workout
Players Mentioned
Griz Football Spring Game Highlights - 4/10/26
Friday, May 01
Griz Football Spring Practice - 3/2/26
Monday, March 30
Griz Football Spring Preview Press Conference
Monday, March 30
Griz Football Winter Condo - 2/20/26
Monday, March 30
