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USC Football: How Will 2024 Tight End Joey Olsen Fit Into Lincoln Riley's Offense?

Breaking down the strengths, areas of question, and the system fit of 2024 USC commit tight end Joey Olsen

Matt Solorio

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He may not even play tight end. 

Joey Olsen is one of the best prospects currently living in the state of Oregon. And yes, the Ducks did court him. But the Lakeridge (Lake Oswego, OR) product decided to fly south for his college ball.

At a legit 6-5, Olsen actually took most of his reps as a receiver, not as a traditional tight end. If USC plans on using him like they are currently using highly recruited tight end Duce Robinson (as a wide receiver), he may not even need to fill his frame out to be effective in Lincoln Riley’s offense.

Olsen is dripping with athleticism. They should call him “Darth Fader” for the way he forces his high school coaches to call goalline fades so often. Being that tall, quick, and jumping that high makes you elite. Most of the major recruiting networks have him at either 3 or 4 stars. Olsen is most dangerous as a high-point contested ball weapon. His film lacks instances of him as a ball carrier so that part is TBD in my eyes.

He’s still an unpolished recruit, but the physical tools to be a contributor at the next level are there. I did see one instance in his junior highlight film of him blocking a nickelback, but it’s unlikely that he’ll do much blocking in Lincoln Riley’s offense anyway.

Olsen does, however, display solid route running and he knows how to use his size/speed to his advantage. He’ll bait corners on the fade and break in for a wide-open dig/slant route.

The bottom line on Olsen is that his athleticism jumps off the page, but he will likely need some time to develop before competing at the Power 5 level. He’s a high-ceiling prospect that is simply too flashy to pass up.

He committed to USC on September 14th, 2022 while passing on offers from Louisville, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Tennessee, and many more.

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Matt Solorio
MATT SOLORIO

Matt Solorio is a USC Trojans On SI reporter/analyst covering football recruiting, NIL, and other topics. He is also a Recruiting Analyst for Sports Illustrated All-American and an editor at SugarAndSports.com. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, he brings a technical approach to his coverage of football recruits. He played defensive end at City College of San Francisco, coached at Archbishop Riordan HS (San Francisco, Calif) is committed to providing USC fans with interesting, informative, and engaging content. 

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