Introduction
Igor Olshansky (/oʊlˈʃænski/; born May 3, 1982) is a Ukrainian-born former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He also played for the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.
Early years
Olshansky was born in the industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, Soviet Union. His father Yury had played basketball for the Red Army. Shortly before the break-up of the Soviet Union, he and his family moved to San Francisco in 1989, when he was seven years old. His maternal grandfather, Abraham Rubshevsky, fought in World War II for the Red Army, and was injured 11 times.
Olshansky is Jewish and said of being Jewish, "It's who I am; my culture; my roots". During his youth he attended the Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy in San Francisco, headed by Rabbi Pinchos Lipner, an Orthodox Jewish day school. He then attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory on a basketball scholarship, and – already 6' 5" in the 10th grade – played basketball for the school until his junior year, while concurrently playing basketball in the Maccabiah Games in St. Louis and Milwaukee. After two years, he also began playing football in his junior year in high school.
College career
At the University of Oregon, where he majored in psychology, Olshansky was honorable mention academic All-Pac-10 in his freshman year, and picked for Sports Illustrated's All-Bowl Game team at the end of the season. He was honorable mention All-Pac-10 as a sophomore, second-team All-Pac-10 as a junior, and recipient of the Joe Schaffeld Trophy as the Ducks' top defensive lineman after both his sophomore and junior seasons. He was used at all defensive line positions.
In his career at Oregon he had 146 tackles (89 solos), 11.5 sacks, 3 blocked kicks, and one 37-yard interception return in 38 games. Olshansky left school following his junior season, with one year of eligibility remaining.
He set a team record with a 505-pound bench press, and also holds team records in the clean and jerk and squat.
Professional career
2004 NFL Combine
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5 in | 315 lb | 4.96 s | 1.75 s | 2.80 s | 4.41 s | 7.61 s | 33.5 in | 9 ft 2 in | 43 reps | ||||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine | |||||||||||||||||||
In early try-outs for the draft, he bench-pressed 102.1 kilograms (225 lbs) 43 times on one try, two presses short of the rookie record. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds and jumped 33.5 inches from a stationary position. He scored high on the Wonderlic intelligence test in spite of still being unfamiliar with the English language. A National Football Conference scouting director observed: "He can play both end and tackle, he can control the point and rush the passer, he's a very good athlete."
San Diego Chargers
In the second round (35th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft, the San Diego Chargers selected Olshansky out of the University of Oregon. In August 2004, Olshansky and the Chargers agreed on a 6-year contract, with the final year being voidable. The contract called for a $2.25 million signing bonus and had a value of $5.2 million over five years, through the 2008 NFL season. He became the NFL's first Soviet-born player.
In his rookie season in 2004, he started all 16 of the team's games.
Olshansky was ejected from a game against the Denver Broncos on November 19, 2006. He punched Broncos center Tom Nalen after what appeared to be Nalen trying to cut block Olshansky on a clock-stopping spike play. Olshansky had recently had knee surgery when Nalen went after Olshansky's knees. Two days later, the NFL fined Nalen $25,000 for the cut block, more than double the $10,000 fine Olshansky received for the punch.
With the Chargers, he had 151 tackles and 11 sacks in 75 games, starting all but 5 of them.
Dallas Cowboys
Olshansky signed a four-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys on March 6, 2009. The deal was worth $18 million, with $8 million of it guaranteed. He finished the season with 76 tackles (seventh on the team), 2 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures and 3 passes defensed.
In 2010, he started 14 games, registering 38 tackles (tenth on the team), one tackle for loss, 4 quarterback pressures and 2 passes defensed. He was released on September 3, 2011.
Miami Dolphins
Olshansky was signed by the Miami Dolphins on September 20, 2011. He was waived on November 30.
NFL stats
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | SD | 16 | 39 | 24 | 15 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2005 | SD | 14 | 29 | 18 | 11 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | SD | 13 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2007 | SD | 16 | 49 | 35 | 14 | 3.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2008 | SD | 16 | 29 | 21 | 8 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | DAL | 16 | 40 | 29 | 11 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | DAL | 16 | 38 | 17 | 21 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2011 | MIA | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 115 | 264 | 166 | 98 | 12.5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Key
- GP: games played
- COMB: combined tackles
- TOTAL: total tackles
- AST: assisted tackles
- SACK: sacks
- FF: forced fumbles
- FR: fumble recoveries
- FR YDS: fumble return yards
- INT: interceptions
- IR YDS: interception return yards
- AVG IR: average interception return
- LNG: longest interception return
- TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
- PD: passes defensed
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- Bob Boyles, Paul Guido (2008). The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Modern Reference to America's Most Colorful Sport, 1953–Present. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. ISBN 9781602393318. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
- Eric Stephens (August 24, 2004). "Chargers Have Faith in Him; Jewish players are rare in the NFL, but many feel Olshansky will be an impressive rookie". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
- Harvey Rosen (October 20, 2005). "Jewish players, owner score in pro football". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
- "Rookie Scores as NFL's First Player From Former Soviet Union". The Forward. September 17, 2004. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- Kevin Acee, "Olshansky-Nalen incident in back of Chargers' minds", The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 5, 2006.
- "Igor Olshansky, DT for the Miami Dolphins at". Nfl.com. September 18, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- Rick Herrin, "Cowboys sign veteran defensive end Olshansky", Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 7, 2009.
- "Dolphins sign DL Olshansky, CB Jones to shore up defense". Nfl.com. September 11, 2001. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- "Cowboys cut DE Igor Olshansky". SportingNews.
- http://www.nbcdfw.com/blogs/blue-star/Former-Cowboys-DE-Olshansky-Signs-With-Miami-130290548.html
- http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7299302/miami-dolphins-waive-kicker-shayne-graham
- "Igor Olshansky Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
Personal life
He has many tattoos, including two Stars of David on his neck. He is regularly featured in Jewish news publications.
Olshansky is married to Liya Rubinshteyn, whom he met at the Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy in San Francisco. They live in Dallas, and have a son.
He was arrested Thursday, December 1, 2011, for marijuana possession as part of an undercover bust that resulted in 280 arrests. The Broward Sheriff's Office went to Olshansky's condo in Fort Lauderdale to investigate Olshansky's friend, but ended up arresting both men. He was charged with possession of 19 grams of marijuana.