Jerry Olsavsky
Assistant Coach
Seventh Season
(Pittsburgh, 1990)

    A 10-year National Football League veteran, Youngstown native Jerry Olsavsky is in his seventh season as the Penguins' linebacker coach.
    A fearless competitor and tireless worker, Olsavsky joined the staff prior to the 2003 campaign and has brought to the program a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to the position.
    In his six seasons, Olsavsky has coached eight All-Gateway Conference selections, including three-time first-team pick James Terry (2005-07). Terry is just the second player in school history to be named first-team all-conference in three straight years.
    In 2008, Olsavsky's linebackers began the season as an inexperienced group, but improved and grew throughout the year. Even at the end of the season, YSU started a junior, sophomore and a true freshman the final four games. During the course of the year, only one senior started a total of seven games. Underclassmen started 29 of the 36 possible slots at the three positions for the season. Four first-time starters saw time at linebacker in 2008.
    In 2007, Terry was a first-team selection while Jeremiah Wright was an honorable-mention pick. Three of the Guins' top five tacklers were linebackers in Terry, Wright and Roshon Simons. Terry led the squad with 11 tackles for losses and 5.5 sacks.
    In 2006, two Penguins earned first-team all-conference honors in the same campaign for the first time in school history. Terry and Marty Hutchinson earned laurels from the conference for spearheading a defense that led the conference in turnover margin.
    Hutchinson had an impressive year finishing with 114 tackles, including 57 solo stops in 14 games played. He was also second on the team with eight pass breakups. Terry had 76 tackles, including a team-high tying 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. Four of the top nine tacklers on the squad were linebackers.
    In 2005, YSU had two linebackers earn All-Gateway honors as Terry was a first-team selection while Mike Andrews had the best year of his career to earn honorable-mention accolades. It marked the first time since Tim Johnson in 2000 that the Penguins had a first-team all-league linebacker.
    A fast and furious unit, the top three tacklers on the team were linebackers -- Terry, Andrews and Wright.
    In 2004, two of his linebackers earned all-conference laurels. Wright, then a sophomore, was named second-team All-Gateway and Terry was named to the all-newcomer squad. Wright recorded a team and career-high 91 tackles as three members of the linebacking corps were among YSU's top four in total tackles. Hutchinson was second with 76 stops while Terry was fourth with 71.
    Leading the way for the Penguins in 2003 was linebacker Yancey Marcum who led the squad with 114 tackles, an average of just under 10 per game. Five of YSU's top eight tacklers came from the linebacker spots.
    Olsavsky, who graduated from Chaney High School, returned to Youngstown after spending a year as an assistant strength coach at North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. Prior to his stint with the Tar Heels, he was an assistant coach at Chaney and Duquesne University.
    Olsavsky had a standout career for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1989 through 1997. After getting drafted in the 10th round, he played in 108 games making 227 tackles for Pittsburgh. He battled back from a possible career-threatening knee injury during the 1993 season to make a full recovery and played all but one game his final three years in the Steel City. In 1995, he was the Steelers' Ed Block Courage Award recipient for outstanding on-field performance despite overcoming personal obstacles. That year, the Steelers lost to Dallas in Super Bowl XXX and he made a start in the AFC Championship Game against the Colts.
    His best season came in 1996 when he finished with 63 tackles and started playoff games against Indianapolis and New England.
    In 1998, he signed with Baltimore and played in nine games making 12 tackles for the Ravens before retiring after the season.
    Playing collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh, he was a first-team Kodak All-American as a senior in 1988 making 129 tackles. He became the Panthers' first defensive player since 1976 to record more than 100 tackles in three consecutive seasons. He made 101 stops and had a team-high 127 tackles his sophomore year. At Pittsburgh he earned his degree in Information Science in 1990.
    While playing on the gridiron at Chaney High School he was a two-time first-team all-city selection. He graduated in 1985 and then went on to have a successful college and professional career.
    He and his wife Rayme have two sons, Joseph and Dominic, and a daughter, Emma.