“Let me get my shoes,” former US President told the Secret Service as he was being rushed off of the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania Saturday after an assassination attempt.
Former Washington Husky safety Nick Olszewski (top middle in the picture above) was part of Trump’s Secret Service detail that tackled the former president so hard that they knocked the presidential candidate’s shoes off
”That’s Nick,” said a former Washington teammate. “He was an important part of our special teams unit,” said one former teammate. “Ask anyone from the 1996-2000 and they’ll all say the same thing: he hit you hard.”
It was no secret how hard the walkon from Kirkland hit—even in practice.
“We called him ‘white lightning’, fellow safety Carothers recalled. “Pound-for-pound he was one the hardest hitters on the team.”
Trump told the New York Post that he was tackled to the ground so hard that he was knocked out of his shoes and received a contusion to his forearm.
Former teammates also describe the former president’s protector as hard-nosed, disciplined, driven and possessing an unbelievable work-ethic.
“I’m not surprised that he’s gotten to that spot,” Carothers said. “That’s right up his alley.
Olszewski’s job now is to throw his body into harm’s way with no regard to his own self.
“He always gave all-out effort when given a chance he shine,” said fellow safety Greg Carothers. That’s why saw the field as much as me did because he was fearless.”
He was just played lights out every time he was in the field
Carothers recalled a key moment against the Idaho Vandals in the Huskies 2000 Rose Bowl season.
“Idaho scored on one of the first plays of the game,” Carothers said. “He recovered a fumble on a kick return that set up a touchdown for us. It was a huge momentum shift.”
The Huskies went on to win 44-20 and finished 11-1 that season, with Olszewski appearing in 8 regular season games plus the 2001 Rose Bowl.
In the Rose Bowl UW beat Drew Brees’ Iowa Hawkeyes 34-24 and the Huskies finished 3rd in the final AP Poll.
