He played college football at Oregon and was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft.

[3][4][5] His maternal grandfather, Abraham Rubshevsky, fought in World War II for the Red Army, and was injured 11 times.

[1][6][7] During his youth he attended the Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy in San Francisco, headed by Rabbi Pinchos Lipner, an Orthodox Jewish day school.

[4][5] 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.

[5] 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.

[4][14] In early try-outs for the draft, he bench-pressed 102.1 kilograms (225 lbs) 41 times on one try, two presses short of the rookie record.

[4][7] 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.

"[12] In the second round (35th overall) of the 2004 NFL draft, the San Diego Chargers selected Olshansky out of the University of Oregon.

[8] Olshansky is married to Liya Rubinshteyn, whom he met at the Lisa Kampner Hebrew Academy in San Francisco.