Former Utah State Aggie great Merlin Olsen dies

Born, raised and loved in Logan, Merlin Olsen was the iconic Aggie.

A Logan High grad and an All-American football player at Utah State, Olsen went on to be a 14-time Pro Bowl player in the NFL and is enshrined in both the pro and college football halls of fame.

Thursday morning, after a battle with mesothelioma, Olsen passed away at City of Hope Hospital in California.

He was 69.

"I really think that, for 45 years, nationally, in many respects, he was the face of Utah State University," said USU vice president Ross Peterson, Olsen's former classmate.

And as such, though he didn't campaign for such a title, he never let the school down.

"I think he epitomized someone who was given opportunities and was bright enough, and smart enough, to take advantage of those opportunities," Peterson said. "He is the perfect example of what you can do if you apply yourself."

Olsen, though, wasn't always a great athlete.

"I was a bust, I couldn't make a team. I couldn't get on a roster and I'd go out for every team they had in the school and I couldn't last past the first practice," Olsen told NFL Films in an interview that is now part of the tribute the league posted online Thursday after Olsen's death.

"I finally was able to start playing and I had all this pent-up frustration. And that gave me enough fuel to last for a long, long time."

Olsen graduated from Utah State in 1962 and was named a consensus All-American and the Outland Trophy winner. He was, perhaps more importantly in his eyes, a three-time Academic All-American, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Kappa Phi with a degree in finance.

"I can't think of anyone who has graduated from Utah State University who has accomplished more in a broader array of fields than Merlin Olsen," Utah State University president Stan Albrecht said. "His distinctive and powerful voice will be remembered for the breadth of its influence and by the impact it has had in so many different facets of our lives."

Olsen in many ways personified Utah State University.

The rugged defensive lineman who played a key role in the Los Angeles Rams' famed "Fearsome Foursome," Olsen became the most visible ambassador USU had for decades.

Though he had stepped out of the spotlight for the most part in recent years, he enjoyed a non-football career very much as successful as he had on the field.

After his NFL career was over, Olsen returned to Logan to work on a master's degree while also pursuing an acting and broadcasting career.

He got roles on "Little House on the Prairie" and in movies and eventually landed headlining roles in the television series "Father Murphy" and "Aaron's Way."