Pete Carroll ‘Couldn’t Stop Crying’ Watching Blind Long-Snapper Play For USC

Pete Carroll was brought to tears by seeing Jake Olson, USC's blind long snapper, play on Saturday.

Jake Olson, the blind USC long snapper, brought Seattle Seahawks and former USC head coach Pete Carroll to tears during last weekend's season opener.

Carroll befriended Olson just a few years after he lost his eyesight due to retinal cancer at 12 years old. Carroll used to invite Olson to hang around the Trojans in 2009. On the final day before Olson underwent surgery that would leave him blind, he elected to attend a Trojans football practice.

Olson made his debut on Saturday but has been practicing with USC for two years. He is on the roster through a scholarship for disabled athletes. 

"“Jake is a huge story. He is one for all of us about courage and character, grit and vision and special qualities that few people would be able to hold onto. He is going to be a big factor and we are all going to see him do a lot of stuff in this world and there is nothing holding Jake back. I was so excited to see it, I couldn’t stop crying. It was thrilling. It was good to see a Trojan win too, but it was really something," Carroll told reporters. “I would have imagined that Jake would have been dreaming about playing for the Trojans, but the fact that it could ever come true, I would have not have thought that was possible. But then again, it’s Jake, so anything’s possible"

Watch Olson play below: 

Olson also posted an Instagram photo thanking Pete Carroll for his support.

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A post shared by Jake Olson (@jakeolson61)

"To Coach Carroll, none of this would have been possible without you," Olson wrote. "If you hadn’t made me a member of the Trojan Family when I was 12, I don’t know where my life would be. You are a special person, and I will be forever thankful for your generosity. "