Igor Olshansky
Igor Olshansky (born
May 3,
1982 in
Dnipropetrovsk,
Ukraine) is the first
Soviet-born player of
Jewish descent in the
National Football League. In the second round of the 2004 NFL
draft, the
San Diego Chargers selected him out of the
University of Oregon. Igor moved from Ukraine to San Francisco when he was 9 years old. He attended Saint Ignatius College Prep, where he played basketball until his junior year. That year, Igor met Vince Tringali, a former St. Ignatius football coach. Tringali saw Igor's massive potential and converted him to football.
At an NFL Draft combine, Igor set a new record of 43 bench-press repetitions of 225 pounds. Having completed his first season as an NFL player, Olshansky is beginning to establish a reputation as an effective and skilled defensive lineman.
*
NFL Player Profile
