Recruiting/Player Profile: Eli Olson/Mankato East (2021)

With this Northstar Football News recruiting profile, we head south to Mankato and chat with NFN prospect <strong>Eli Olson </strong>of Mankato East. We chatted with Olson about his football career with the Cougars, what his recruiting interests are, and much more. <strong>Eli Olson, Class of 2021</strong> <strong>Position: </strong>Offensive Guard/Defensive Line <strong>High School Program:</strong> Mankato East <strong>Get to Know Eli Olson</strong> Olson's primary position is Guard, but he has played tackle and center in the past for the Mankato East Cougars. As a football player, Olson's football focus has always been being the "best version of myself" on the field. "I love every aspect of getting better in the weight room, practice, film and focusing on the small parts of my game to make myself better and the team better," Olson said about his love of getting better at the game of football. The two biggest strengths Olson has are his size/physicality and having a high football IQ of knowing always where he needs to be on the field on every play. <strong>Best Part About Offensive Line</strong> Olson's favorite part about the offensive line is taking "pride" in a job that "won't be mentioned in the paper or put on the news that night", Olson said about his favorite part on the offensive line. He said he also loves when his running backs get "250 rushing yards" knowing that he and his men on the offensive line were opening up the holes for them during each game. The competition factor from the guy on the other side of the line gives Olson the competitive edge to compete. "I have to beat him on every play", Olson said about his position. Finishing blocks aka. getting pancakes and being physical on every play is another favorite for Eli. <strong>College Interest</strong> Olson calls playing college football "a dream" as he has several games invites on the books, especially from the Missouri Valley Conference. He's already taken a game invite from the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State but also has invites from North Dakota State, North Dakota, Western Illinois, and Coyotes of South Dakota. He plans on attending each game day invite on this list he told Northstar Football News. <strong>Improvements from the Off-Season by Olson</strong> The biggest thing the Mankato East Cougars coaches said for Olson to get better at was his quickness with his feet, becoming more explosive, and being able to move in open space better. To improve his explosiveness, Olson joined the Cougars track team and threw shot put and discus to work on his explosiveness. Olson has made sure that in workouts that he is displaying "explosive movement and exercises" as those have made him some great improvement from the off-season. He has become a "block until the whistle player" as well with his game. <strong>Eli's Mentor</strong> Eli's biggest mentor is his dad, as he's been his mentor for a very long time. "He's always pushing me to get better and will go out of his way at any time to do so," Eli said when talking about his father. Time is another thing that Eli thanks his dad for whether that was driving him to recruiting visits, football camps, etc. and even the little things, like making sure he has his cleats or equipment is another thing that's helped Eli as a mentor. He's also taught Eli off the field, by being a student, leader, and being a good person as well. <strong>Biggest Things Eli Learned About This Season</strong> Olson realized just how much more confident he has in his ability as the biggest thing he learned this season. An example would be when he knew for a fact he could win the battle up front all night long.  "I played against some really good linemen this year and I loved playing in those situations where I have to rise to the occasion and block very talented players," Olson said. Eli said he used those situations as a "measuring tool" to see how he stacked up against other players he was playing against. "Having a good game against a good player always has given me boost confidence," Eli said about some of his games this season. In only his 2nd year of varsity football, Eli feels that he was already better at moving his feet and using his physicality to his advantage. I think Eli Olson is up for an even better senior year next year for Mankato East. Thanks, Eli Olson for the report!